Irondad Bingo 2019
by EmilyF.6
Summary: Follows the prompts for Irondad Bingo from Tumblr.
1. Genderbent

**It's Irondad Bingo time! For the first one, I went with Genderbent to give you some more Penny Parker! This was from a prompt from a Tumblr user: Tony has to protect Penny after someone tries to detain her.**

Tony had known about the technology for months. They'd started using it in Europe, which was one reason he had vetoed the idea of taking his intern, who also happened to be Spidergirl, to Europe for a conference once the news broke. With the laws changing and everyone freaking out about mutants, he'd been fighting the urge to just keep her locked up in the compound until this whole mess was sorted out. Then, after an attack on Xavier's school a few weeks ago, everyone was on edge. And Tony didn't want Penny getting mixed up in any of it.

He had asked May if he could keep her at the compound for a few weeks during her summer vacation, saying that she could do an internship thing and he'd pay her and all that. Really, though, he wanted the kid out of the public eye for a while. Everyone had to know that Spidergirl was a mutant. And considering that in other countries there had been 'mutant patrols' made up of people hunting anyone they suspected of being a mutant, he didn't want Spidergirl on the streets. He didn't think that any of it had spread to America yet, but he hadn't wanted to take any chances.

Penny had argued. She'd pouted. She'd even snapped at him, which had been a first. When she'd first arrived at the compound for her internship/protective custody type thing, she'd been kind of confused. He hadn't spoken to her much about it, but May had quickly agreed after seeing the news that they had to keep Penny safe. But the girl was smart and she'd connected the dots quickly enough. "Mr. Stark, how am I going to patrol from here?" She'd asked on their third day in the lab. He'd been doing his best to keep her entertained, pulling out new things for them to play with in the lab and having the best food delivered and watching movies with her. Honestly, none of that had been stressful or anything. He loved hanging out with the kid...not that he'd said that out loud. Still...she was a good kid. It wasn't exactly a chore to hang out with her.

"I thought we'd lay low for a bit...I could use some company." He'd hoped that, by making it about helping him out, she'd be a little more likely to comply.

No such luck.

"But what about my patrols?"

"Kid…" He'd sighed then, crossing his arms and turning to face her. She'd been frustrated, and he had understood that. But he had to keep her safe. That was his job...the thing he'd promised May he'd always do. "They're hunting mutants in Europe. Torturing them...locking them away. Kidnapping them…"

"I can take care of myself." She'd snapped.

He'd fought for patience. Fought not to yell. Kept his voice as level as he could. "I know that." He'd all but ground out, pinching his nose. "But things are getting bad...May and I want you to lay low. Keep Spidergirl out of the public eye for a while."

"But I…"

"This isn't a discussion, Penny." He'd finally barked, pointing a finger at her. "May and I have already talked. You're staying here."

"You're...what? Putting me on house arrest?" She'd cried, incredulous, and he'd rolled his eyes at the dramatics, reminded uncomfortably of Wanda. He really didn't want to go down that road again.

"Yes. The Avengers compound, complete with movie theater and indoor pool, is such a terrible place to have to stay for a few weeks. How on earth will you survive the injustice." He'd realized a moment after speaking that sarcasm may not have been his best bet, but that realization had come after the girl had spun on her heels, storming off and slamming the door to his lab almost hard enough to shatter it. "Fri?" He'd murmured, waiting for the AI to answer. "Don't let her out."

He'd given her the rest of the day to calm down and had planned on finding her sometime later that evening, probably with dinner and a better explanation as to why he needed her to stay at the compound for a few weeks. As it turns out, he hadn't had to. He'd glanced up from his tablet a couple of hours later to find her hovering in the doorway, eyes downcast, one sneaker digging into the ground. "Mr. Stark?" She'd asked sheepishly, face just a little flushed.

"Come on in, kid. Want to give me a hand with this?" He'd pointed to the table where he'd been working his way through some calculations. The girl had nodded, moving over to the other chair and had immediately gotten to work. They'd worked in silence for a few minutes before she'd finally gotten up the courage to speak. "I'm sorry." He'd glanced up, ready to talk, but she'd gone on. "I know that...that you and May are just trying to keep me safe. And...I'm...I'm scared too. If people found out that I was mutant...I'm just...I don't want to let them stop me from helping people." Her voice had been small and he'd wanted, more than ever, to put her on lockdown and make sure she was safe.

"I know, Pen." He'd put the tablet down, watching as she did the same with her pencil. "It's not for very long. Rhodey and I are going to DC to try and get this all sorted out." And then he'd said the words he would come to regret. "Why don't you come along as my intern? You can take notes and fetch me coffee." She'd smiled at that, probably knowing just as well as Tony that he'd never make her fetch him coffee. Still, she'd nodded, and thus the plans had been made.

Tony didn't hear anything as they stepped into the government building. But he felt the girl freeze beside him, eyes narrowing as if in confusion. "Mr...Mr. Stark?" She asked, looking up at him, stumbling just a little as she caught his sleeve. And still, the dots didn't connect. "Mr…"

"What's up, kid?" He asked, ignoring Rhodey and Happy who had turned to see what was going on. Happy had come along as his 'bodyguard' and head of security, but he had suits on standby. Penny didn't have her suit, though...he hadn't wanted to risk that. They'd left it back on the jet.

"What...can't you hear…". She grimaced, a grunt forced from her mouth as she pressed her hand against her ear.

"What? Hear what, Pen?" And then he looked up, catching the eyes watching them. The men with guns stepping forward and the handcuffs one pulled out of his pocket. The receptionist that looked at Penny with wide eyes, a hand against her mouth as if she was seeing a monster.

A mutant.

"Rhodes….Happy…". He choked out, pressing a button on his watch to call the suit. Immediately his friends drew their weapons, moving to put themselves between the slowly approaching men and the girl. "Penny? Talk to me, kid. You're…". His words cut off abruptly when she dropped her hand from her ear, revealing a trail of blood that dripped down her neck, staining her shirt crimson. "No...no, kiddo...you're alright. You…".

"Mr. Stark...it hurts...it…". She was cut off by a sob, and Tony had to lunge to catch her as her knees crumbled.

"Step away from it, Mr. Stark." One of the men ordered, and the girl arched her back as she lay on the ground, mouth open in a silent scream as tears pooled in her eyes. Tony ignored them...ignored the man that had just called the girl crying on the floor 'it.' He'd deal with him in a minute.

"Friday, I need my suit. Now!" He ordered his AI softly, bracing Penny's head with both of his hands. The men continued to come closer, but neither Rhodey nor Happy backed down.

"You better back the hell up," Rhodes warned, aiming his gun. "You aren't getting anywhere near that girl."

"She isn't a girl, Colonel, she's..."

"If you finish that sentence I'll shoot you on principle." His old friend snapped. There were six men surrounding them, all arms with guns pointing as best they could at the child on the ground. Happy and Rhodey blocked them, but they were no match for six armed men...plus the fact that they would probably be calling for backup pretty soon. The one with handcuffs that were most likely reinforced and designed for mutants inched forward a little more. If that man tried to touch his kid, Tony would break his arm.

"Please...stop…". Penny begged as the Iron Man armor came closer. Two suits...he'd called two suits. The girl writhed on the ground, jaw clenched, head thrown back as if she was having a seizure. It wasn't just a sound, he realized. There was a strange smell in the air...something that must be targeting mutants. She put a hand over her mouth, coughing as blood splattered against her fingers. "Please…"

"Turn it off!" Tony practically screamed, watching blood start to drip from her nose. "Now!" Happy glanced back at them, then took a step forward, obviously trying to drive the men back. He'd never appreciated his friend more, even though none of the men moved.

"Give her up and we'll turn it off, Stark." The one with the handcuffs reasoned. "The law states that all mutants must be accounted for."

"That isn't a law!" Rhodey snapped.

"It was signed this morning. Emergency order pushed through by the president."

"Yeah? Well fuck you and fuck your disgusting, dehumanizing laws. You aren't gonna touch my kid!" Tony all but screamed, not giving a shit that all of this was probably going to end up on Youtube. He'd have to get her back to the compound. Lock it down.

But what if that wasn't enough?

"Boss? We have Tony Stark in the lobby with a mutant girl…". The one with the handcuffs began right as the armored suits crashed through the window, one remaining standing and opening up while the other covered Penny, enveloping her.

"Get her to safety, now Fri!" He ordered, and the suit took off, Friday doing her best to keep the girl level as she flew Penny back to the jet. Now covered by his own suit, Tony turned back to the men, lifting his repulsors and stepping between his friends. "Drop them. Now." For a second, it looked like there was going to be a shoot out. Then Tony activated his shoulder cannons, the weapons unfolding along his arms. "I said drop them." He growled.

"It's the law now, Stark. If you're harboring mutants…"

"I don't give a fuck about your laws. Put your guns down before I break another one." The men glanced at one another and the leader, the one with the handcuffs, slowly lowered his gun, followed by the others. Everyone was silent for a moment, then Tony let the shoulder guns fold back into his suit, Rhodey and Happy slowly lowering their weapons. "We're leaving."

"The mutant will need to be…"

"I'm not discussing this. The kid stays with me. You try and mess with her, I will end you." Tony took a step back, followed by Happy and Rhodey. And then the three of them left, Tony letting the two not in suits to go first, then followed, climbing into the back of the car.

"Where is she?" Happy demanded.

"In the jet." He bit out, bringing up her vitals. It didn't look good, but at least she was alive. That's what he would focus on. Never mind whatever they'd done to make her bleed like that. Never mind that she'd been crying. He'd get her to safety first. Then they would deal with this bullshit new law.

They climbed into the jet and Rhodey almost immediately raced to the pilot's seat, Tony moving over to the suit lying on the ground, still protecting the girl. "Open it up, Fri." He commanded, jumping out of the suit and dropping to his knees beside her. The front of the suit opened, revealing her face which was a bloody mess. Happy swore, pulling out a handkerchief and passing it to Tony who wiped her face, trying to see if she'd been hurt or if it was just the blood that had already been pouring from her nose and ears. As if that was somehow better. "Alright kid. Stay with me." He murmured as Rhodey took off. She muttered something, and he slipped an arm underneath her, easing her out of the suit and placing her on the seats along the side of the jet. "Pen? You awake?"

Nothing.

"Friday?"

"The gas is designed to only target mutants. It is currently working its way out of her system. I would suggest placing her on oxygen and letting her rest."

"Got it." He grabbed an oxygen mask, Happy hurrying to hook it up, and soon she was wrapped in a blanket with an oxygen mask strapped to her face. He dropped into a chair beside her, giving Friday instructions on securing the compound. They would need to go into lockdown. Maybe find somewhere else to hide if they came after them. He might even need to contact Steve...see where they were hiding out and join them.

If he had to get her out of the country, he'd do it.

By the time she woke, they'd moved her to the medbay, one of the compound doctors having hooked her up to a handful of monitors keeping track of her stats, all of which were approaching normal. She came to slowly, blinking heavily and looking around the room before her eyes landed on Tony. It took her a long moment before her eyes widened, apparently remembering what had happened. "Where…" She started. He put a firm hand on her shoulder, easing her back down onto the bed when she started to sit up.

"We're at the compound." He murmured. "Don't worry, kid. We're safe here." She shook her head, and he knew that now, she got it. That she finally understood what the world was doing. And he hated it. He had never wanted her to see how much people could hate her without ever knowing her, all for something she had no control over. He'd never wanted her to be in danger...well, any more danger than she was usually in just by being Spidergirl.

"What...what was that?" She asked, bringing a tentative hand up to her ear and sighing in relief when it came back clean.

"The tone was designed to incapacitate anyone with enhanced hearing. Same with the gas." He clenched his hands in his lap, about to try and break to the girl that May was on her way and that they were going to be hiding out at the compound for as long as possible. But before he could, she looked up at him, swallowing hard.

"Mr. Stark? Can...can I stay here for a while?"

He let out a breath, nodding. "Of course you can, kiddo."

_**Thank you for reading!**_


	2. Uncle Ben

**Irondad Bingo 2: Uncle Ben**

Peter sat on his bed, backpack at his feet, frowning down at it for what felt like a long time. Longer than should have been necessary. But...it was...wrong. Just slightly wrong. He had no idea why. It was his backpack. It was blue. His stuff was inside. He reached down, pulling it open and looking through the stuff. There were his books. His folders. A few wadded up papers that could have been chemistry notes or an outline for a science fair project or a note he'd been passing back and forth to Ned.

It was his backpack.

"Hey, buddy." The words startled Peter a little, and he looked up in surprise, his heart leaping in his chest. He hadn't heard the person approaching.

"Ben!" He wasn't sure why the sight of his uncle made his stomach tighten...why it seemed so strange to be in his bedroom with his Uncle Ben. That should have been totally normal! He lived with his aunt and uncle...had since he was a little kid. Since his parents had died. They'd taken him in. And he lived with them.

Right?

"How was school?" The man asked, stepping into his messy bedroom. An Iron Man figurine lay on its side on his bookshelf, a couple of LEGO sculptures in the corner. A pile of clothes that may have been dirty or maybe clean was right in the middle of the floor. Reaching out, his uncle ruffled his hair, then rested his hand on the back of Peter's neck.

"It was...uh...fine." Why couldn't Peter remember school? He'd gone to school...right? Surely he had. He tried to think back….he'd probably hung out with Ned and maybe talked to MJ and...something else. There was something else he did...after school. Peter had been sitting on the bed...he figured he must have come home from school and just...sat down? Right? Yeah. As he thought about it, the memories came back. He'd gone to school, aced a quiz, caught his bus, then come home. Just like always.

Everything was fine.

"I'm glad to hear that, buddy." His uncle squeezed his shoulder, eyes soft. "How about we grab some ice cream? To celebrate?"

"Celebrate?" Peter asked, standing and moving closer to his uncle, fighting the urge to throw his arms around the man. He'd missed him so much!

Missed him? Why?

He brushed that thought away, following his uncle through the familiar apartment. On the wall were old photos of himself as a kid, one of his parents...his aunt and uncle's wedding photo...it felt like he hadn't really looked at that picture in a long time. "Yeah, Pete! Celebrate!" Ben chuckled, grinning down at him. "Your report card!" Peter glanced over at the refrigerator and realized he must have put it up. That's right! He'd hung his report card on the refrigerator after school. Of course. Why had he forgotten that? "Straight As again. Keep this up and you'll be going to MIT before you know it!"

MIT...did Uncle Ben want him to go to MIT?

Of course, he did. Yeah. He'd talked about it...right? Said something about...it not being too early to look at colleges?

No...that hadn't been his uncle…

But who else would it have been?

"Where's May?" He wondered, looking around the apartment kitchen as his uncle grabbed his keys.

"Still working. Double shift at the hospital." RIght. He'd known that. She'd mentioned it that morning. Probably. Peter followed his uncle out of the apartment, making sure to lock the door behind him, and the two of them headed to the elevator, riding down, and then hurrying to Ben's car which was parked on the street.

And then they were in the ice cream parlor. The one they'd gone to together a hundred times. The two of them were at their usual table, Peter's uncle digging into his chocolate ice cream. Chocolate ice cream...had his uncle always liked chocolate? Yeah. Of course.

Who else would have eaten ice cream with him?

To be honest, Peter didn't want ice cream. He wasn't hungry...his stomach was kind of sick, actually. It kind of...hurt. He put a hand to his mouth, grimacing at the feeling of nausea. "Come on, buddy...come on." He frowned...and then there was a hand on his shoulder. "Buddy?"

"Huh?" He asked, looking up into his uncle's concerned gaze.

"You okay, Pete? You look kind of sick."

"No, uh...I'm fine. Just...uh...felt weird for a second." He grabbed the spoon then, taking a bite of peanut butter ice cream without really tasting it. Still, he took a bite, then another. "Um...how was work?" He wondered.

"Good. It was good, Pete. You know, your aunt and I were talking. Why don't we go on a vacation this summer? Probably just for a week. I thought we could go to the beach. Somewhere warm and sunny. What do you think?"

"It sounds great!" Peter grinned, excitement colored by...something else. Something strange. LIke he was forgetting something. Was there a reason he couldn't leave New York for a week? Something...something was nagging at the back of his mind…

And this conversation...they'd had it before. Right? They'd talked about going on a vacation...but...they hadn't. No...they hadn't gone on vacation that summer because….because…

Why? Why hadn't they gone on vacation?

"Did you two eat ice cream before dinner?" The playful question jolted Peter back to the present and he blinked, staring down at his plate of meatloaf.

May? Peter blinked, looking from the table to his aunt and guilty looking uncle who winked at him as he took a drink of his smoothie.

Smoothie? Did his uncle drink smoothies?

Yeah….he must. Right? He was drinking one now. He remembered his uncle drinking water and sometimes a beer. Soda. Champagne with Aunt May on their anniversary and on New Year's.

Also...hadn't May been working a double shift?

"No. Of course not. Why would you even ask?" His uncle asked, and he felt his lips turn up at the corners, suppressing a giggle.

May turned her gaze to him and he swallowed the laugh. "Nope. I'm starving." He lied, shoveling food into his mouth without tasting it.

But then it hurt. It hurt like nothing else ever had and he gasped, grabbing at his stomach and dropping out of his chair with a strangled whimper. "Ben…" He gasped, coughing and tasting blood. What the hell? His uncle was suddenly on his knees in front of him, holding him upright against his chest.

"It's okay, Pete. It's okay. I'm here...we're gonna fix this."

"What...what's going on?" He sobbed, coughing again and watching blood soak his uncle's shirt. "Ben?" The arms around him tightened, and something poked him in the arm.

"Don't worry Pete. It's okay. You're okay. You're…" His uncle's voice caught on what sounded like a sob. "You're going to be fine."

"It hurts...Ben...please…" Peter cried, his whole body shaking as the pain spread. "Please!"

Ben was holding him so tightly...he was shaking. His uncle was shaking...not him.

And then he was sitting on his bed again, his uncle beside him. "Ben?" He asked, confused. Hadn't be been...on the floor? Something was wrong...something...big. He needed to call for help. He needed to call…

Tony Stark. He knew Tony Stark. Mr. Stark could fix this!

"Ben, I think I need to call Mr. Stark." His uncle looked down at him, eyes narrowing in confusion.

"What, Peter?" He asked, reaching out and taking Peter's hand.

"Yeah...he...I have an internship. With Mr. Stark!"

How could he have forgotten that? Mr. Stark was his...his boss? His friend? His...his father figure.

But why…

It felt like his whole chest was caving in, pain spreading through every part of him. Hands shaking, he stared up at his uncle and remembered. Remembered an alleyway in Queens...remembered kneeling at the man's side, hands covered in blood. Remembered holding him, sobbing into his shoulder as his body had turned cold. "Ben?" He asked, his voice a whimper.

"I'm here, Peter." The man murmured, placing a hand against his cheek. Peter shook his head.

"No...you're not! You're not here!" He sobbed, clutching his uncle's wrist. "You're gone. It's my fault...you're gone and…"

"Oh, buddy." He murmured, shifting so that he was facing Peter and capturing his face in his hands. "I'm with you. I'll always be with you." He'd rested his forehead against Peter's, wiping a tear away. "I would never leave you, Peter."

"But you did! You left me!" Ben took a deep breath, pulling away and looking so sad. So exhausted and sad, moving one hand from his cheek and placing it against his chest.

"I'm right here, Peter. Besides, you've got someone else looking out for you now." Peter frowned, shaking his head. "Iron Man, buddy. You always loved him, right? He was always your favorite. We had to drag you away from that computer when you were little...you were always trying to find videos of him saving the day."

"But I want you too!" Peter cried, tears overflowing.

"I know you do, baby. I know." His uncle pulled him close again. "And I want to be with you, Peter. I want...I want to be with you and May. More than anything. But I can't." He pulled away once more, hands on Peter's shoulders as he looked him in the eye, his own eyes red. "I love you so much, Peter. You know that, right?" Peter nodded.

"I love you too. I'm sorry I didn't tell you…"

"You don't have anything to apologize for, buddy. I'm so proud of you. More proud than I could ever say."

They weren't in Peter's room anymore. They were...on the roof. The roof of Peter's apartment building, the two of them sitting on a blanket, just like when Peter had been little. Ben had taken him out on nights when he'd had nightmares...nights when he couldn't sleep. And the two of them would stare at the stars, even though neither of them could name a single constellation. So one day, Ben had gotten an astronomy book from the library and they'd taken a flashlight and tried to find the stars in the smoggy city.

Now there were a lot of stars. Too many for them to be in Queens. But Peter didn't care. He wanted to stay. Forever. With his uncle. As if he'd read his mind, his uncle shook his head. "You have to go back soon, buddy."

"No...I want to stay with you. I...I can't lose you again."

"You're never going to lose me, Peter. I'll always love you. No matter where I am. And you'll always love me. Right?" Peter nodded. "Right. So you'll never lose me. Besides, you've got people waiting for you...so many people that love you. Just like I do." Peter started to shake his head...started to argue. But Ben rubbed a hand over his back. "It's almost time, Peter."

"I don't want to go." He sobbed.

"I know, buddy. But you have to. May's waiting for you. She needs you, Pete. And what about Mr. Stark? You can't leave him now."

"Mr. Stark...he doesn't…" Peter started, but the man shook his head, hand tangled in his curls.

"Tony Stark loves you like a son, buddy. He might not know it yet. But he does. He's so afraid right now...why don't you go back to him now? Let him know that you're okay. And tell him thank you for me...for looking after my boy."

He wanted to argue. Wanted to fight. But he knew that he couldn't win this. He barely understood what was going on, much less how to fight it. Instead, he wrapped his arms as tightly as he could around his uncle, stifling his sobs in the man's shirt. "I'm here, buddy. I'm right here."

His uncle's arms were around him, but someone was also holding his hand. And it hurt. No...not his hand. His stomach hurt. And his throat hurt. Like he'd been screaming for hours. "Ben?" He whimpered. He wasn't holding his uncle anymore. He was laying down, flat on his back with his head propped up on a pillow, and someone was holding his hand. "Ben?"

"Hey. Hi, buddy. It's me. It's Tony." The soft, familiar voice murmured. He blinked his eyes open, putting the hand that wasn't being held onto his stomach, flinching at the lingering pain.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah. I'm here...I'm right here." The hand...Mr. Stark's hand squeezed his. "Are you with me, Pete?"

"Yeah." He rasped, flinching at his own voice. "Where…" He started, glancing around and fighting the urge to just go back to sleep.

"You're in the medbay. Do you remember what happened?" He shook his head, flinching as another wave of pain cashed over him. Looking past Mr. Stark, he saw Rhodey through a glass door, talking to someone else...Happy. He was talking to Happy. Rhodey and Happy were in the hallway of...wherever they were.

"No." He whispered. Mr. Stark rubbed his thumb over the back of Peter's knuckles, the motion calming him a little. Grounding him.

"We were at a science expo...we went for your internship. Well, officially. You went to get me coffee...you accidentally gave me yours and drank mine." Mr. Stark was staring down at the floor, thumb rubbing his knuckles over and over, hand squeezing gently.

"Am I...allergic to black coffee?" He asked, doing his best to lighten the mood. He'd had coffee before...he'd gotten really shaky and hadn't been able to sit still for longer than twelve seconds at a time, but he'd been fine. The man across from him barely managed smiled.

"It was poisoned." Peter swallowed hard, jaw tightening. "The barista knew that you were my intern...they were hired to kill me. But you got the drinks mixed up and...you hadn't slept the night before so you just downed the thing…" Mr. Stark took a deep breath, squeezing Peter's hand, his eyes filling. "You said your stomach was hurting and...you were seizing on the floor and...we almost didn't get you here in time. You were...the internal bleeding was so bad...and you were screaming and…"

Peter squeezed his hand, cutting off his words and pretending not to see the tear that Mr. Stark wiped away, face turned to the side. "I'm okay, Mr. Stark. I'm okay." He whispered. The man didn't look up at him for a long time, and Peter sniffed. "I...I dreamed I was with my uncle and...he said…" Peter closed his eyes, feeling tears fill them, and then Mr. Stark was standing, moving to sit on the bed beside him and carefully pulled him into his arms. Peter clung to him with weak arms. It was just like his uncle...but not. Not the same man. Not the same relationship. But the same love. "He said...that you loved me…" His voice broke, but he kept going. Kept forcing the words out, because he needed to say them and he had a feeling that Mr. Stark needed to hear them. "And he said...to tell you, thank you...for looking after me."

He pretended not to notice the man's shoulders shaking. Pretended not to notice how tightly he was being held, as if the man could protect him from something that had already happened. "I do love you, kiddo. Of course I love you." A hand pressed Peter's head to Tony's chest, and he closed his eyes, taking a deep breath of the smell of Tony's cologne and the machine oil that he was always working with.

Mr. Stark wasn't Uncle Ben. He never would be. But he liked to think that that really had been his uncle...that his uncle really was happy that he had someone else in his life that loved him. Because of course he would be.

"I love you too."

**Thank you for readnig! **


	3. Fix It

**_Thank you so much to everyone who has read and reviewed! 3 _**

**Trope: Fix it**

"Mr. Stark?" The secretary's presence in the hallway surprised him. She was either new, or he'd never spoken to her before...either was equally likely. He typically took the private entrance to the compound anyway, while the secretary's job was mostly to field various officials who wanted to meet with the Avengers...or, what was left of them. Honestly, he could have let them go at this point. It was just him, Vision (sometimes), and Rhodey left.

But he didn't want them to be out of a job just because the Avengers couldn't keep their shit together. They'd caused enough damage. So he kept the full housekeeping staff, not caring that they sometimes brought their kids to work and not caring that they didn't technically have enough to do anymore. The floors always sparkled and the windows were cleaned every week, so the fact that they sometimes spent hours chatting, working on night school papers, or blatantly playing Candy Crush didn't escape his notice, but he didn't really care.

"Good morning…." He felt a twinge of guilt when he didn't know the young woman's name...usually he was pretty good at that.

"Um...Valerie, sir." She swallowed, glancing back at the reception area behind her, and immediately he was on alert.

"Everything okay, Valerie?" He asked. She gave him a weak smile.

"Um...yes, sir. Um…" She glanced back at the reception area again. "There's a woman here to see you. And...I told her that you don't have any openings in your schedule for meetings today but she insisted that she wasn't leaving until she saw you. I told her that I would have to call security and she said…" Valerie hesitated, then sighed. "Tell that rich asshole that if he doesn't come and talk to me I'll sell his phone number to TMZ." Tony nodded, heaving a sigh, pretty sure he knew what was going on.

"Right. Lead the way, Valerie." The woman sitting in the reception area sat with one leg crossed over the other at the knees, arms crossed, red glasses perched on her nose. "Mrs. Parker." He greeted, nodding and giving her a charming smile that she ignored.

"Mr. Stark."

He'd managed not to think much about Peter Parker.

It had been about a week since he'd taken the kid's suit. And...okay, so he might have overreacted. A little. Maybe. He remembered the kid's face. He remembered seeing the kid's face...how Peter had accused him of not caring.

Is that what the kid really thought? Did Peter think that he didn't care? He brushed that thought away, shaking his head a little. Peter was a good kid. He had a lot of potential. And maybe in a couple of years, they could try again. He wasn't sure how that would go...would he just call up the kid and ask for a do-over? Ask if the kid wanted his suit back? Of course, he'd also considered the idea that the kid might pull out his old suit and try patrolling in his onesie. And what would Tony do then? Forbid it? Tell May? Was he really in a position to tell the kid he couldn't be a friendly neighborhood superhero? The kid had superpowers!

The kid was also only fourteen.

No...fifteen. Tony had to flinch a little at that. He was pretty sure he hadn't given it away during the argument he'd had with the boy, but...he hadn't even known that the kid had had a birthday. He'd wanted to keep his distance. Had needed to keep his distance. Peter Parker was a good kid. A really good kid. What kind of kid got superpowers and then immediately went out and started fighting crime in sweatpants? And Tony had wanted to break the cycle. Had wanted to be a mentor to this kid. And then Peter had nearly destroyed a ferry. Nearly gotten a whole lot of people hurt.

Nearly gotten himself killed.

He'd seen the boy strung between the two halves of the ferry. Had seen him trying so hard and failing. That child would have let himself get torn in two before letting go. And Tony couldn't bear that thought. Couldn't bear the thought of watching that kid try so hard to fix things and get hurt anyway. Besides, he'd hacked the suit. (Tony stubbornly ignored the knowing voice in the back of his mind that reminded him that, had he received a super cool super-suit as a teenager, the literal first thing he would have done would have been to figure out how it worked and hack the hell out of it.) None of it mattered, though. Even if Tony wanted to try and figure things out with the kid...what good had that ever done him? Him working with other people...it never worked. What had made him think that he could be a mentor? Him? The kid would have been better off with Steve Rogers.

"How can I help you, Mrs. Parker?" He asked, already tired. The woman pulled herself to her feet, arms crossed. But she didn't look angry. Not like he'd expected. She looked upset. Almost afraid.

"I was hoping I could talk to you, Mr. Stark." She looked tired. Just like he felt.

"Right. Of course." Tony gestured for her to follow him. She'd already come all this way, after all. He had no idea what to tell her, but he guessed he'd taken her underage nephew out of the country to fight Captain America and had given him a super-suit and then encouraged him to continue being an underage superhero. Without telling her any of it. So...yeah. Maybe he owed her a conversation.

He led her to a small room off to the side, making sure to shut the door behind him. "Friday, soundproof the room, please, dear." Unimpressed, May took a seat on one of the sofas, and he sat across from her, hands in his lap, one leg crossed over the other. "What can I do for you, Mrs. Parker?"

"Peter told me he lost the internship." Tony nodded slowly, lips pressed together. He wasn't sure exactly what Peter had told his aunt. But apparently, he'd stuck with the 'Stark Internship' cover story. He could work with that.

"Yes. Unfortunately, things didn't work out. With the internship." May nodded, eyes lowered. "Did he send you here?" Honestly, Tony couldn't imagine that, but how well did he really know the kid?

And whose fault was that, a voice in his brain whispered. That kid would have loved to get to know him. Tony shook it off. Getting to know people rarely worked out for him anyway. "No." May laughed a little, distracting him from the voice in his brain that apparently hated him. "No, Peter would, as he would put it, die of embarrassment if he knew that I was here." Tony smirked a little, well aware of how dramatic teenagers could be. "I just...he was so excited about this internship, Mr. Stark. And I...please don't think I'm here to try and...and convince you to give it back to him. I'm...I'm sorry that I barged in like this. And I wouldn't have sold your phone number...I just...I didn't know how else to get past your receptionist." She flushed a little, looking embarrassed.

Okay. So this wasn't at all how Tony had pictured this going. Like...at all. He swallowed, shaking his head. "It's not a problem. What can I do for you, Mrs. Parker."

"May." The woman insisted. He nodded.

"May, then."

"I just...something's wrong with my kid, Mr. Stark."

"Tony." He murmured. He was pretty sure he'd introduced himself as Tony when they'd met before. Still… 'Mr. Stark' made him think of the kid and...okay, so thinking about the kid was unavoidable considering his aunt was right in front of him, but he didn't want to think of the boy calling him Mr. Stark or about how he'd looked stretched out between two halves of a boat.

If that kid died at fifteen years old, it would be on him. And he was so utterly exhausted...so completely tired of being crushed by failure after failure. Things with Pepper were a little better but not perfect. Otherwise, everything seemed to be crashing and burning around him. He was selling the tower...it reminded him of old friends and old enemies, of Ultron and his failure to hold it all together. To protect the world after messing it up so badly.

"He won't talk to me anymore. He...he'd been sneaking out for...for months. He thinks I don't know but...he's getting detention and sneaking out...Peter doesn't...he never snuck out before. But then, after his Uncle died...after Ben…" She took a moment, wiping a hand over her face. "I'm sorry. This isn't…" She cut herself off, clutching her hands in her lap. "When he lost the internship...when my kid came home in the middle of the night, crying and telling me he'd lost the internship...I was worried. More worried than I was before. I mean, the internship was helping but..." She waved a hand, sighing softly and shaking her head.

Crying. The kid had been crying. Okay...that hurt. Tony didn't want to think about the kid crying because of him. Not Peter...the smart kid who had been so, so excited to meet him. He couldn't bear the thought of letting him down too. But maybe he already had. He'd taken his suit away...but the kid had been so reckless. Too reckless. He'd almost gotten a lot of people hurt...not that Tony had the whole story.

Maybe he needed to try and fix that...get the whole story. Maybe he needed to actually sit down and talk to Peter. Ask him what had happened on the ferry. But first, before he even thought of figuring out a way to talk to the kid, he needed to talk to May. He needed to try and untangle this mess. Because, looking at the boy's worried aunt, it struck him. Peter Parker was Spiderman, with or without the suit. And soon enough, the kid would figure that out. Tony could all too easily imagine him figuring it out in the middle of a fight he wasn't ready for.

Tony couldn't let that happen.

He'd managed not to think too much about Peter since taking the suit and getting him new clothes to wear home. The kid had said no to a ride home according to Happy...so he'd just walked home, apparently. Tony knew that Peter had his own webshooters. Still had his web fluid. It was his, after all. Tony had no right to take those things. So was Peter still going out as Spiderman? He should have been keeping a closer eye on that, he thought with a sigh.

"I know that you were just his boss. I know that...that he might not have even been working with you that often. He never told me much about his internship. But I just...I was wondering if you...if you had any idea…" May shook her head. "I'm sorry. I...shit." She swore under her breath. "I just wanted to know if you had any idea why he would be sneaking out at night. I thought that...that since you guys worked together he might have mentioned...anything. A girlfriend? A boyfriend? Hell, parties. I'd take parties."

Tony swallowed, clenching his hands in his lap and trying not to look out of his depth. "Is he still sneaking out?"

She shook her head. "I don't think so. But now he's, well, it's like after Ben passed. He won't talk to me. His grades are up but a lot of the time it's like he's not even...there. I don't know if I should force him to talk to someone again or…" She trailed off again, giving him a weak smile. "I'm sorry. I just thought that you two were getting close and after his uncle he…"

May stopped talking but she didn't have to finish her sentence for him to understand. Peter had just lost his uncle when Tony had come into his life. And Tony had seen how Peter had looked at him. He'd seen that look in his eyes the last time they'd talked...the hope. The disappointment. The frustration and pain. Peter had hoped…

Tony didn't want to think about what Peter had hoped. But how could he avoid that when the boy's aunt was sitting here, asking for answers that he wasn't allowed to give her. Peter had hoped that Tony would be a mentor to him. An….adult male figure. And what had Tony said to him? That his dad hadn't given him a lot of support. That he was trying to break the cycle of shame. He hadn't been attempting to sound cavalier when he'd said that. He'd meant it. He cared about the kid. Cared about him like…

Like his father had never cared about him.

"I mean, ever since that expo, he's idolized you." Tony frowned at that, looking sharply up at her.

"What?"

"The expo. With the...flying robots…" She waved a hand, smiling a little. "Peter was wearing a plastic Iron Man mask and he said that you saved him. You probably don't remember but…"

"No." He whispered, voice suddenly hoarse. "No, I remember." And he did. He remembered spotting the little boy in a toy mask, hand up uselessly as he was targeted by one of Justin Hammer's drones. He remembered blasting the thing away, terrified that he wouldn't make it in time. Terrified that he was about to watch a child die because of him.

And years later, he could have watched that same child die.

"You're right," Tony spoke softly, leaning forward in his chair and looking a little more closely at May. She looked tired. Maybe she needed a vacation, he thought. He could take care of that. Send her somewhere warm and sunny, maybe with a friend. The kid could stay with…

Tony was stunned at how light that thought made him...how his heart seemed to unclench a little. Muscles he hadn't even though were tense relaxed as he let his mind finish that sentence. The kid could stay with him. Peter could stay with him while his aunt went on vacation. Tony could sit down and talk with him. Peter wasn't Steve. Peter would sit down and listen. And so could Tony. He could ask what had happened on the ferry and he could talk to him about using the suit. Carefully. With every thought, he grew lighter. More relieved, as if he'd already fixed things. He didn't know if he'd be able to fix things with Steve. But he could fix things with Peter.

"You're right," Tony said again. "We were getting close. And Peter was...he was trying really hard. But he made a couple of mistakes. I think he was overwhelmed. And…" He tried to think of a way to say it without giving the kid away. "I'd like to talk to him. Maybe try and figure out what happened. Peter's a good kid. And he was doing a great job before...well before he made those mistakes. Maybe we can work this out."

"Tony, that isn't why I came here." She hurried to assure him. He nodded, smiling a little.

"I know."

"I just wanted to see if you knew anything."

"I don't. I mean, I don't think I do. But...I'd like to see if Peter wants another try at the internship." May nodded slowly.

"Please don't tell him I came to see you. I don't want him to think…"

"I won't say a word. I promise." Tony hesitated, looking at the dark bags under her eyes. "Do you have plans today?"

"Um...I'm working a double at the hospital tonight. Honestly, that's probably why Peter was able to start sneaking out. I'm barely ever home." He shook his head. He couldn't let May think that. Peter would never want her to think that this was her fault.

"I'm sure that has nothing to do with this. Would it be okay if I had Happy pick him up from school today?"

She blinked a few times, then nodded, wiping a hand under her eye. He looked away, not wanting her to be embarrassed. "That...I think that he would really like that."

In the end, Tony was left waiting in the living room of the compound. Pacing. Sitting. Scrolling through his tablet. Tinkering with the kid's new suit...the one he hadn't stopped working on since coming up with the idea. A suit like his own...one to give the kid more protection. Happy hadn't been thrilled about his new assignment, but Tony was sure that deep down, he really did like the kid. Tony went back to pacing after a while, going over and over what he'd say to the kid. He would fix things. This was Peter, the kid that looked up to him and practically idolized him. The kid he'd saved years ago.

When Happy pulled into the drive, Tony had to admit, he was nervous. He stopped in front of the mirror, brushing his hair back, making sure it was in place, then toyed with the idea of putting sunglasses on but ultimately vetoed it. This wasn't the press. It wasn't Steve or the Avengers. This was Peter Parker.

The boy hesitated as he stepped out of the car, and Tony stepped away from the window, hating how worried Peter looked. But the kid followed Happy up to the building, and Tony took deep breaths as the elevator approached his floor. Peter hadn't been up here...hell, he'd never been to the compound. Maybe Tony could give him a tour after they talked. But he'd chosen his personal floor for a reason. He wanted to do this right. He wanted to start off on the right foot...show the kid that he didn't just want to be Spiderman's mentor.

The elevator opened and Tony took a deep breath, then found himself smiling as Peter stepped into the living room, a step behind Happy. "Here you go, boss." Happy told him, gesturing toward Peter, and Tony took a step forward.

"Thanks, Hap. Go ahead and take the rest of the day off." He'd drive the kid home himself.

Once Happy was gone and Tony was left with the kid, he felt himself soften. Peter looked scared. "Why don't you take a seat, Pete?" Tony invited, gesturing to the sofa and stepping into the kitchen. Peter remained where he was for a moment, then walked over to the sofa, perching there so stiffly that Tony wondered if he'd topple over if Tony pushed him. The thought made him smile as he pulled a bottle of orange soda out of the refrigerator and offered it to the boy. He stared at it for a moment before taking it.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark." He murmured. Tony took a seat on the sofa across from him, sitting back and trying to look non-threatening. It didn't work...Peter was still as stiff as ever, holding the soda without drinking it.

Tony didn't know how to start. Not really. But he knew that he was glad to see the kid. Glad to see that he was okay. "How have you been, kid?"

"Um...I've been...fine, Mr. Stark. Thanks. Um...how are you?"

Tony smiled. "I've been fine, kid." He took a deep breath. "I thought we could talk. If you want."

"Oh….okay." Peter nodded, eyes not quite reaching Tony's. "Um...what...what did you want to...to talk about? I mean, I haven't been...I know you don't…" Tony held up a hand, keeping his smile in place to soften the words.

"Actually, I was thinking more along the lines of I would talk and you would listen." Peter nodded, mouth closing so quickly that his teeth clacked together. "Alright." Tony rubbed his hands together, nodding to himself. "Okay. First things first. I really fucked up." The kid blinked in surprise, jerking his head up and meeting his eyes for the first time. Tony wasn't sure if it was because of the language or the admission. "I told you before...I don't know how to do this. My dad never gave me any kind of support...like, at all. Sent me away to boarding school, made our butler look after me...then he sent me away to college. Thank god for Rhodey or I would have turned out even worse."

The boy didn't smile. Barely seemed to be blinking. So he went on.

"I want to break that cycle, kid. I want to give you the support that my father never gave me." He let the implications of that sink in, then felt a stab of horror when the boy dropped his eyes, biting down on his lip and sniffing a little. "Kid?"

"I'm sorry." The boy whispered, shaking his head, and Tony was reminded of the kid's aunt. The way she'd wiped her hand over her face, trying not to let him see her cry. "I just...I thought...thought you wouldn't want…" Tony heaved a sigh, pushing himself up from the chair and moving to sit beside the boy. After hesitating for a moment, he lifted a hand and rested it on Peter's shoulder.

"Look, I overreacted, kid. Well...maybe that's the wrong word. What you did was dangerous."

"But I…" Peter cut himself off before Tony could, dropping his eyes and shutting his mouth again. Tony sighed, drumming his fingers on his leg for a second, trying to pick the right words. The ones that would fix this.

"Okay. Let me rephrase. You freaked me out. You lied to me about band practice, hacked the suit, and then I show up only to find you about to be literally split in half by a boat filled with people." Peter swallowed, and Tony squeezed his shoulder, lowering his voice and going against every instinct as he admitted the truth. "I was scared, Peter. I was scared that you'd get hurt...hell, I was scared that you'd get yourself killed. And you could have. If I hadn't gotten there in time, you could have been seriously hurt." Peter still didn't look at him, picking at his fingers as he hunched over in his seat. "But...I shouldn't have yelled at you."

Now the kid was looking at him, wide-eyed and, dare Tony think it, hopeful. Good. He wanted Peter to be hopeful. He wanted the kid to forgive him so that they could move on.

"I should have given you a chance to explain what happened on the ferry. I should have given you my phone number from the beginning. And…" He turned, looking a little closer at the boy who had looked up to him for so long...who he'd saved once and who he was sure he'd save again. "I should have given you a real internship. Because you deserve it. You're a great kid, Pete. You're smart and you've got a good heart and you're a great superhero." Peter blinked, biting down on his lip and lowering his eyes.

"You think...that I'm a superhero?"

Tony swallowed, shifting closer and putting an arm around Peter's shoulders. "Kid, I know you're a superhero. Hell, you're going to be the best of us one day. With some training. Which I'll be doing." He gave the kid a quick squeeze, relaxing when Peter finally smiled. "Alright, Pete. First things first." He reached around the side of the sofa, pulling out a paper bag and placing it on the stunned boy's lap.

"Is this…" Peter started, staring down at the bag with so much hope that it almost broke Tony's heart.

"It's your suit. Yours. It was a gift, and I shouldn't have taken it like I did. Maybe this weekend I can show you the extra features."

"Mr. Stark, I...thank you. Sir, I don't…" Tony waved him off.

"You said that you were nothing without that suit. You were wrong. You're still Spiderman, no matter what you wear. You were Spiderman before I came along and you'll be Spiderman after I'm gone. Just like I'm Iron Man, with or without the suits. Understand?" Peter nodded, and even though Tony wasn't sure if he really believed him, Tony knew that he would one day. "Alright, kiddo." He sat back against the arm of the sofa, turning serious. "Your turn. Walk me through what happened with the ferry and we'll see if we can get this Vulture guy."

And, hesitantly at first, then with more confidence, Peter did.

Tony might not be able to fix things with Steve just yet. But he could fix things with Peter.

_**Thank you for reading! **_


	4. Jealousy

_A huge thank you to all of my readers and to everyone who has reviewed! I hope you like number 4!_

_Trope: Jealousy_

"You look like a toddler." Tony glared at his fiancee's retreating back, no real heat in the words. Still, he thought, face reddening just a little as he dropped his arms. She wasn't exactly wrong.

The text message on his phone shouldn't have bothered him so much. He knew that. He also knew the fact that it did meant something. Something serious. But it wasn't something he wanted to think about. Not now.

It was just...Peter had never turned him down before. Not for anything. Especially not for something like this! The conference was in Belgium! Tony had planned on taking him to several countries afterward...just a fun trip around Europe. Hell, it was the middle of the summer...Peter was on summer vacation. They could have made it a long trip! He felt like he and the kid had been gotten a lot closer. Almost like family. So...he'd just thought….Tony had to fight the urge to be hurt. Jealous. Fight the urge to pull away.

The internship had been going strong for months. Peter had worked with Pepper as her personal assistant, had helped Tony in the lab, and had spent plenty of hours watching movies with the both of them. Okay, so that last part hadn't been for the internship. Still, he'd improved his web fluid, helped Tony with the suit, worked on independent research...the kid had been doing amazing. And Tony had wanted to reward him. Had wanted to spend more time with him...like his father had never done with him. So he'd sent the kid a text asking about a trip to Europe for a conference...and had almost immediately gotten a response.

"I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I can't."

* * *

And that was it. Not that Peter owed him an explanation. The kid had his own life and he was entitled to whatever plans he had. He hadn't ordered the kid to come with him or anything. Hadn't made it part of his internship. It had been kind of a spur of the moment thing, and he hadn't asked about the road trip around Europe part. (Well, probably more like train trip. Still.

So he might have been sulking. Just a little. And Pepper was amused. "What day had you planned on leaving?" She had asked. "Maybe he just needs to push it back a little. Maybe he had plans." Tony fought the urge to ask what kind of plans were more important than a trip to Europe with Tony Stark. That sounded a little vain even for him.

It took quite a bit of prompting, and a little outright ordering on the part of his fiancee, but he finally sent another text, this one to May. "May, do you know if Peter has plans on Monday? I had planned on taking him to a conference in Europe for a week or two if that was okay with you." Okay, so he probably should have asked the kid's aunt first.

And then his phone was ringing. "May?" He asked. Her voice was soft when she answered, making him think she might be at work.

"Tony, Monday is June 6th."

"Yes…". He trailed off, brain searching for the relevant information. It wasn't his birthday...that was in August. It wasn't any other major holiday. His uncle had died in January, so it wasn't that anniversary. He knew all about that anniversary. Last June, he and Peter hadn't really been talking...he'd been knee deep in Accords bullshit after the fallout with Steve. Still, he couldn't think of anything that happened in June.

"Oh. I'm sorry. He hasn't told you...um..." She took a deep breath. "June 6th was the day his parents died."

Tony blinked in surprise at that. Peter had lost his parents when he was little...he knew that much. When he was...six? Seven? He couldn't remember off the top of his head. "Oh. I...I'm sorry. I didn't know…"

"He doesn't really remember them, but he and Ben always did something special every year and now...well, last year he and I went out to dinner and…". She trailed off, voice sad and tired. But then, she seemed to perk up a little. "Why don't you join us?"

"Join you?" He repeated, surprised. Join them for what sounded like a very personal family tradition?

"Yes. Peter sees you as….well, surely you know…". Yes. Tony knew. Tony knew very well how that kid saw him. And how he saw Peter. "I just thought...he'd love to tell you about them. He likes to look at pictures of them. Said it helped him remember a little. And it's only the second year since Ben…"

"Are you sure I wouldn't be intruding?" Or worse? What if the kid thought that he was trying to replace his uncle? What if the kid thought he was butting in where he wasn't wanted?

There was a smile in her voice when she responded. "You're never intruding, Tony. Peter loves you."

Which was how Tony found himself outside of the Parker's apartment on that Monday afternoon. Staring at the door. Motionless. He'd driven himself and had sat in his parked car for about twenty minutes before finally getting up and taking the elevator to their floor. Drumming his fingers on his pants, he stared at their door, taking deep breaths and reminding himself again that he had been invited. That May didn't think he was imposing. That Peter most likely wouldn't either. That Peter loved him.

May had said it. She'd said that Peter loved him.

Peter loved him. The kid that he cared about so much...the kid that he had started to love as a son...that kid loved him back. Felt the same way. And that was what finally convinced him to tap his knuckles against the door, knocking three times before taking a deep breath and a step back. "Peter? Can you get that?" He heard May call from another part of the apartment. Then there were footsteps, and a very confused looking teenager was opening the door and staring at Tony.

"Mr. Stark? Hi…" Then his eyes went huge, jaw dropped. "Oh no...did you not get my text? I should have just called you...I'm so sorry, Mr. Stark…" Tony held up a hand with a gentle smile.

"I got your text, Pete. It's okay. May invited me." He hesitated, clasping his hands in front of him. "If that's okay with you. If not…" Peter was already shaking his head, looking no less surprised, but also not unhappy.

"No...um...come in. Please." He stepped to the side, ushering him in, and so Tony stepped inside, still feeling a little self-conscious. "Did May tell you...what...what day it was?"

He nodded. "Yeah, bud. She did." Peter shoved his hands in his pockets, biting down hard on his lip for a second and looking so heart-breakingly lost. This kid had lost just about everyone and he was still so young. Tony felt for him...but he also knew that he wasn't going to let this kid face anything else alone.

"You, uh...I should have told you why I couldn't come but…"

"Hey." Tony dropped a hand on the boy's shoulder, squeezing gently. "The conference goes on all week. How about we leave tomorrow?"

Peter's eyes lit up. "Are...are you sure? I mean, I know you wanted to leave today, and I know…" Tony held up a hand.

"I'm positive, Pete." The next part was hard to say, but he managed it, putting on an air of nonchalance. "You're the whole reason I wanted to go anyway. I don't care to wait an extra day." Peter blinked at him, then ducked his head down low, but not before Tony watched his eyes fill. Moving closer, Tony put an arm around him, rubbing his back before gripping his shoulder. "I thought we'd turn it into a road trip if you wanted. Go to a few countries...do some exploring." The boy looked up at him then, eyes huge.

"Are...are you serious?"

"Of course. It'll be fun. What do you think?"

"That would be amazing!" Peter cried, practically bouncing on his toes. "I have to pack and...oh...I don't have a passport!"

Tony chuckled. This kid was cute if he thought that Tony wouldn't have prepared for this. "Don't worry about it, Pete. Already taken care of."

"How did you…"

"I know people, kiddo." He pointed a finger at his chest, teasing grin in place. "Tony Stark, remember?" Just then, May emerged from the back room, dressed in a nice blouse and jeans. Tony was glad he'd also worn relatively nice clothes instead of a suit because Peter was dressed about the same way. "Alright. Dinner? Everyone ready?" Peter smiled, nodded and looking more grateful than he should, following along at Tony's heels until the man reached back and pulled him to his side, an arm draped over his shoulders.

Dinner was a quiet affair at a Thai place that Peter and May had apparently been to more than once. The waiters didn't seem to care that Tony Stark was in their restaurant. Instead, they were shown to a table tucked into a back corner, Tony insisting they order whatever they wanted. It was all on him. They didn't talk about anything, really. Tony told him a little more about the trip. Peter told him about the last few days of the school year. May talked briefly about work. After dinner, they went back to the apartment, Peter tucked between May and Tony on the sofa, an old photo album on Peter's lap. Inside were pictures of Mary and Richard Parker. Scientists. Possibly involved with Shield. Peter told the stories he knew, slowly drifting closer to him, his shoulder resting against Tony's.

By the end of the night, May was asleep on the sofa, and Peter had reached the last page of the album. The last picture of himself with his family. Tony knew exactly which picture had been the last. He knew what the last photo of his mother looked like. What the last photo of his father looked like. It was something he didn't think he'd ever forget, despite the fact that he rarely pulled them out. Under Peter's fingertips, the boy's mother smiled at the camera, her head resting on his father's shoulder. And between them was Peter. A tiny child, posed in front of his parents. Unlike Tony in all of his family photos, the boy was smiling, obviously happy. Under one arm was a stuffed bear, his other hand being held by his mother's.

Did Peter remember that day?

Tony hadn't asked. Wouldn't ask. The boy leaned against his side, and Tony brought a hand up to cup the side of his head. "I know...I know it's kind of dumb…" Tony shook his head, but the kid kept going. "I barely remember them, you know? If it weren't for these photos...but it was something Ben and I did every year. And now...now he's gone too, and all I have left is...is May…" His voice caught, but he kept talking, taking a deep breath. "I really wanted to go to the conference but…"

"It's not dumb, Peter." Tony whispered, pressing his nose to Peter's hair. "Nothing about this is dumb. They were your parents, kiddo, and I can tell, just by looking at them, that they loved you so much. I think they still love you so much." Peter sniffed beside him, and Tony leaned his cheek on Peter's head, shifting so that the boy could rest against him. It was late, and Tony had a feeling that it had been a long day for the kid. "And...May isn't all you have left. You have me too." The next words were hard. Nearly impossible. But the room was dark and no one else was around to hear him make himself vulnerable. No one except Peter. And he trusted Peter. "Your parents loved you. Ben loved you. May loves you. And I...I love you, Pete."

There was a long silence, and Tony almost wondered if he might have gone to sleep. But then the boy spoke, his voice wet and so grateful. "I love you too, Mr. Stark."

Tony squeezed him hard, daring to press a kiss to his head. Soon, the boy was sound asleep, Tony not bothering to get up and risk disturbing him. The next morning, Peter would pack his things, and the two would leave for their European vacation. But for the moment, Tony just wanted to hold his kid.


	5. Bullying

**BINGO! Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing :) **

_Trope: Bullying_

"You're on beakers, Parker." Peter lifted his head from his work in surprise and found himself face to face with Tom, one of Mr. Stark's college interns. The guy, probably about 19 or 20, crossed his arms, expression daring Peter to argue. To bring in Mr. Stark. To whine about it being unfair.

But he refused. He always refused.

There were three college interns in the official Stark Internship Program, with Peter bring the only high schooler to join them in the designated intern lab. The idea for him to actually join the Internship Program had come from Miss Potts who had heard Peter telling Mr. Stark that he'd been getting trouble from one of his classmates because they didn't believe that he actually worked there. Which…he hadn't. But he had hung out with Mr. Stark in his lab plenty of times, working on his web fluid or web shooters or even looking through the codes of his AI and trying to figure out how to program one of his own.

"You know, we could always start a high school internship program." She had mentioned, glancing over at the two of them where they'd been sitting in the kitchen. Peter hadn't given them the full story, of course. He'd left out anything involving 'Penis' Parker, as always, but he had a feeling that the man suspected. It had been a passing comment, something about Flash telling people he was a liar. It didn't really matter. Peter had expected Mr. Stark to laugh or something when Miss Potts has suggested it, but the man had nodded at his fiancee, looking thoughtful.

"That's not a bad idea. What do you think, Pete?"

"Oh…um…yeah. That sounds…cool." He'd told them, not sure if he was excited or afraid of the idea. It would be cool to have an actual internship, and he knew that it would look good on his college application. But he'd also been a little worried that the other interns might think that he was just there because Mr. Stark liked him.

It had been a valid worry.

Tom, who was apparently the lead intern, or at least the loudest, had taken an almost instant dislike to him, while the other two, Sophia and Marco, didn't seem to care much about him one way or another. Mr. Stark had introduced him as the newest intern, and after giving him an orientation packet that included some suggested projects that were standard for new interns, he'd left him to it. Mr. Stark had told him that he could work on whatever he wanted and that he would also be expected to help keep the intern lab clean…apparently, they all took turns washing beakers and wiping down counters. Mr. Stark dropped in about once a day to check on things and talk to the interns, but mostly it was self-directed.

It had been almost two months now, and each time it went the same. Tom would look up at him and scoff, muttering to one of the others, usually Marco, about how ridiculous it was that Mr. Stark was letting a high schooler work with them. Sophia typically ignored all of them, focused solely on the robot she was programming at her own work station on the other side of the lab, while Marco would glance up and hum or nod without any real interest. Marco was the oldest at 23 and didn't seem to care one way or the other, mostly focusing on his work with genetics, which involved a lot of plants that he kept in his own corner of the lab.

Tom, on the other hand…well, Peter wasn't a hundred percent sure what Tom was working on. The other two had given him brief explanations of their work, with Sophia actually smiling at him on the first day. She was the most likely to glance up from her work and tell Tom to 'shut the hell up and actually do some work for once.'

When he'd asked the third intern what he did however, the man had taken it as a personal affront. "What the hell does it look like I'm doing?" He'd snapped, gesturing at several piles of documents, five beakers, and a small commuter. Peter had dropped it, setting up his own workstation and wishing he could just go back to Mr. Stark's lab.

And yes, he could probably have just told Mr. Stark that Tom had been kind of an asshole…Peter had been exiled to the back corner desk, could never find any equipment he needed, and one or twice, he would leave his desk to find his notes missing. And he knew that Mr. Stark would have put a stop to that.

But Peter didn't want to be the kid that got into the program only because Mr. Stark had gotten him a spot AND the kid that Mr. Stark bailed out of any kind of trouble. So he did the dishes. He found and/or rewrote his notes. He had planned on working on his web fluid and modifying it until it could be used in a medical setting. He'd used his webs once or twice while on patrol to seal up a cut until he got home, and had wondered if he could make them better. Mr. Stark had thought it was a great first project for his internship, and so he'd been making slow progress. It involved a lot of trial and error between washing dishes and running the occasional errand.

Mostly it was Tom that sent him on runs to the supply closet, and at first, he'd just gone along with it, figuring that he was just hazing the new guy. Marco had asked him to run and grab something once or twice, but Tom seemed to think it was more entertaining than his own work and had apparently made a sport of it. Peter had figured that he could prove to them that he'd earned his spot. So he did supply runs. He ignored Tom's comments on how hard it had been for him to get his own internship. He washed the dishes. And he kept his mouth shut when Mr. Stark asked him if he was having a good time at his internship. He smiled and nodded when the man asked him if the other interns were treating him alright. And when Mr. Stark checked up on him, Tom was totally different. He smiled and showed off his own work, rolling his eyes behind the man's back when Mr. Stark would make his way over to Peter to drop a hand on his arm and take a look at his slower than usual progress.

Peter sighed, pushing himself away from his desk and pocketing his phone. It was month two of his internship…his eighth Friday of this, and it wasn't getting any better. The other two interns had seemingly accepted him, but Tom was holding strong. As he stood in front of the sink and started to scrub beakers, he wondered if maybe he should just break down and tell Mr. Stark. This was supposed to be his internship, not a dishwashing job!

When the dishes were clean, he caught Tom stepping out of the lab, glancing over at him with a smirk before shutting the door. The other two interns were gone too, and, glancing at his watch, he realized that he only had about fifteen minutes left…enough for one more attempt, he supposed.

He picked up the beaker full of solution he'd grabbed before going to do the dishes, pouring it into the container he'd prepared…

And then…

Peter didn't remember the explosion.

He didn't remember the sound, or the flash of light, or the feeling of something in his spine snapping when he hit the metal table bolted to the ground right behind him. He didn't remember cracking his head on the ground.

The next thing he knew was ringing. Constant, high pitched ringing. And pain. Pain that made itself known slowly, a piece at a time. His back, the worst. His head, a close second. There was water on his face…on his stomach…everywhere. Puddles. Puddles of water and ringing in his ears. His mouth tasted like blood, and as his jaw moved in an attempt to make words, he felt liquid drip from his mouth down his cheek.

Through the ringing, he heard voices. "Friday showed me the video! She saw you switch the beakers!" Screaming. Furious, frantic, desperate screaming. Wasn't he supposed to help when people were screaming? A hand touched his cheek, moving something on his head. Goggles. He'd been wearing goggles. The goggles were carefully lifted off his eyes and the strap was…cut? Somehow, it was moved off of his head, a hand bracing the side of his face.

"It…it was just a joke. I didn't know…I swear, Mr. Stark….I just…I didn't think…"

"I know you didn't think! What the fuck is wrong with you?"

Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark was screaming. And it hurt his head. Peter started to move his hand to grab Mr. Stark's arm…to try and get him to stop screaming. But even that tiny movement hurt. He couldn't make any noise…he couldn't move! His whole body hurt and he was…he was laying in water. Or the water was falling from the sky. But that didn't make a lot of sense. Where was he? "Get him out of here."

And then there was just the water and the pain and Mr. Stark, but Peter had no idea why. He couldn't open his eyes….couldn't speak or move…all he could do was lay there, his thoughts fractured and nonsensical. He couldn't figure out where he was…or why Mr. Stark was screaming, and he couldn't ask. "Peter? Kid…come on, buddy." A hand touched his cheek again, another one gripping his own hand. "Dammit, Friday! Shut off the sprinklers!" Sprinklers. Why were there sprinklers?

Peter finally managed to force his eyes open when the water stopped falling on his face, watching dazedly as a hand came closer and then wiped his face. "Peter? Hey…hey, I'm here. You're okay. Helen's on her way. You're okay." Mr. Stark was leaning over him, a hand resting on his cheek. "Can you talk to me, kid?" Peter's eyes felt like concrete, though, and it was impossible to keep them open. "No…no, no, Pete. Stay with me, buddy. Stay with me…"

Time was a blur. There was still ringing…and pain. The pain was getting worse and he clenched his jaw, gasping for air, a painful, whimpering noise escaping. "You're okay. You're okay, honey." Those words kept coming but time seemed to blur before someone else was talking.

"Tony move!" Someone demanded. He couldn't open his eyes, but he felt someone put something around his neck, words like "spinal injury" and "vertebra" getting thrown around, and usually he'd have no problem keeping up. He was smart, right? But his brain wasn't working.

"He'll be okay. Just breathe, Tones." Someone said through the ringing in his ear. Tones. What was that?

"I can't…he…Rhodey…". Peter didn't know if he was missing something as he was moved. Slid onto another surface that rolled under him. He was moving…but not really.

Someone put something over his face, but all he wanted was Mr. Stark. He needed Mr. Stark to be with him! But he couldn't say it…couldn't remember how to form words. And then…

He was awake but somewhere else. Somewhere cold. Colder. He was cold. Frowning at the feeling he tried to find a blanket with his hand. Was he at home? Or staying at the compound? He couldn't remember. But as soon as he moved his arm, he felt a sharp, almost paralyzing pain in his side that had him going absolutely still, gasping at the sensation. "Peter? Can you hear me, kid?" Someone asked, a warm hand touching his own.

"Co…". He muttered. His mouth felt like it was full of cotton and his throat hurt. Swallowing painfully, he tried again. "M co…". Frustrated, he clenched his jaw, trying to force the words out, but it wasn't working! "M…I….m….". It all came out a garbled mess, and a gentle hand touched his hair, a thumb stroking his temple.

"Easy, buddy. It's okay. You're still on some pretty heavy drugs."

"Co…". He whimpered, eyes filling. Why couldn't he talk? Or remember anything? Or figure out where he was?

A finger wiped under his eye, making him think that a tear had escaped, and then a hand cupped his cheek for a minute before pulling away. "Cold? Are you cold, Pete?"

He had no idea how to tell that voice yes, but miraculously, something heavy and warm settled over him, and he sighed in relief. "There you go, kiddo. You're okay."

And then…he was awake again. But this time, he was staring at the ceiling, blinking until his vision cleared. White ceiling. His hands rested at his sides over a thick blanket. Was he…at home? No…not home. This wasn't home. Right?

No.

The tower, then. Had he been staying at the tower with Mr. Stark? Or maybe the compound? He tried to remember but it was all blank. All he remembered was…being cold. "Peter?" Turning his head was too much effort, so Peter just moved his eyes to find Colonel Rhodes sitting at his bedside. When had he gotten there? "Can you hear me, Peter?"

"Yeah." He croaked, wincing as the words escaped through his dry throat. The man's face broke out in a relieved smile then, a hand moving to his shoulder.

"Let me get Tony and a doctor, okay?"

Then there was a doctor and a worried looking Mr. Stark and they were saying something about brain injuries and spinal injuries and…something? The doctor was trying to ask him something. But he couldn't focus…couldn't stay awake. Mr. Stark looked really scared and he wanted to ask him if he was okay, but Peter was too tired to make his mouth move. All Peter knew was that he fell asleep and then…

He was awake. Really awake. Someone was breathing and, tentatively he turned his head to find Mr. Stark asleep in a chair beside him, his head thrown back uncomfortably. "Mr. Stark?" He asked, feeling bad about waking him but needing to figure out what was going on. Even his own voice hurt his head which was pounding painfully. He felt strange…stiff and sore all over. "Mr. Stark?" The man stirred a little, grumbling in his sleep. Peter tried to shift in the bed but suddenly realized what was wrong…

He could barely move his legs.

His blood seemed to turn to ice in his veins. "Mr. Stark?" He asked, voice louder and desperate, and it immediately had the man jerking awake. "Mr. Stark…what…what happened?"

The man jumped out of the chair as if electrocuted, hurrying to Peter's side, his hands moving to Peter's shoulders, stopping him from attempting to sit up. "Easy, bud. Easy." He murmured, thumbs gently rubbing circles in his skin. "You're okay. You're fine."

"I can't move my legs." He gasped out, feeling light-headed as he stared pleadingly up at the man who looked so impossibly sad. "Why…why can't I move my legs? What's going on?"

"Pete, take some deep breaths. You're okay. I'm right here, kid. Take a deep breath and I'll tell you everything, okay? You're going to be fine." Peter took a painful, almost ragged breath, but nodded, sinking back into the pillow, fighting a moan as his head throbbed. "Do you remember anything?" Peter shook his head, hands shaking at his sides. "Okay. Here." The man reached over, grabbing him a cup and pouring it about half full of water. Peter took a sip, then another, Mr. Stark's hand under his to keep it steady. After he'd managed to swallow some of it, he let Mr. Stark tuck the blanket up around his shoulders before taking a seat beside his bed. "How are you feeling? Does anything hurt?"

"I can't move my legs." He whispered again, feeling his eyes heat up. He didn't care about the headache or the whole-body soreness. All he cared about was the fact that when he tried to bend his right knee, his leg barely twitched, a line of muted pain going from his back all the way down to his ankle.

"You had a spinal injury."

"But what happened?" Peter demanded, feeling his eyes heat up.

Mr. Stark sighed, running a hand through his messy hair. "There was an explosion. In the intern lab." Peter shook his head, the memory hazy and hard to find, but somewhat there. The intern lab. He'd been working on his web formula…he'd been trying to modify it. He knew that much. "I wasn't…I wasn't working with anything that would explode." A terrifying thought hit him then. "Was anyone else hurt? Did I break anything? Is everyone okay?"

The man closed his eyes for a moment, then shook his head. "It wasn't your fault, Pete. Tom switched out one of the chemicals you were using."

Peter blinked at him, swallowing hard. He had known that Tom didn't like him much. He'd suspected that the guy was stealing his notes. But this? "He…why…"

"He said it was a joke." He flinched a little at Mr. Stark's tone and wondered if Tom really was okay…or if Iron Man had done something to him. "Friday has footage of him bullying you from the first day of your internship. According to her calculations, you spent about 63% of your time washing beakers and running errands." Peter waited for the man to ask him why he hadn't come to him. He waited for the admonishment. The anger. Instead, Tony took a deep breath and went on. "He was escorted out of the building by the police. He's also lost his internship, of course, and it will be a supreme act of mercy on my part if he ever gets any kind of job anywhere ever again. Or if he ever gets out of jail."

Peter didn't argue. Not while he was waiting for Mr. Stark to explain what exactly had happened to him.

"The explosion threw you into the table…I won't go into the medical jargon, but you basically broke your back and a couple of ribs. When you hit the ground, you got a pretty nasty concussion. If you hadn't been wearing your goggles, Helen said you probably would have been at least temporarily blinded." Peter swallowed hard, hands still shaking.

"But…but I'll heal, right? I…I always heal." His voice was so small and afraid that it might have been embarrassing had he not been so focused on Mr. Stark.

"Helen thinks so. But it's going to be slower than you're used to." The hand moved to grip Peter's shaking one. "If you weren't enhanced, you'd be paralyzed right now. But your healing is working and as long as you get plenty of rest and do the physical therapy, you'll be back on your feet again."

Peter wanted to feel encouraged. He wanted to smile and assure Mr. Stark that he was fine…that he was a superhero and that he'd work hard and everything else he felt like he was supposed to say. Instead, he covered his eyes with his free hand, feeling a sob break through despite his best efforts. Mr. Stark stood, moving to his side and sitting on the bed. Carefully and so slowly, Mr. Stark stretched out beside him on the bed, wrapping an arm around him.

"I don't know what I did…". Peter sobbed, turning his head and hiding his face in Mr. Stark's chest. His mentor rubbed his upper back, hand moving in gentle circles. "I just…I was just trying to…". He cut himself off, biting down hard on his lip and trying to quit crying, but Mr. Stark didn't seem to mind, just holding him close.

"You didn't do anything, buddy. That guy was just an asshole." There was a pause. "You're going to be okay. I've got you, kid. I'm going to be right by your side the whole time, I promise."

And as weeks passed, each one filled with tests and physical therapy and painfully slow progress, Mr. Stark never once broke that promise.

_**Thank you for reading! **_


	6. May's Abusive Boyfriend

_**Raise your hand if you're terrified for Endgame!** _

_Trope: May's Abusive Boyfriend_

Peter stared down at his hands, taking deep breaths, the sound of his own heartbeat the only thing he could focus on despite the other sounds...sounds of people snoring or walking around...sounds of clicking keyboards in another room, or keys jangling on belts...or crying. At least one person was crying.

He was crying too. Huge, silent tears that dripped down his cheeks. He was shaking. But he didn't know how to stop. Didn't know when he'd started.

That was a lie. He knew exactly when he'd started...when Simon's nose had snapped under his fist.

He stared at his hands for a long time, his brain making patterns in the dried blood. The chains connecting his wrists were too tight but he didn't care. This was all his fault. He deserved the pain. So he'd live with it. When they'd offered him a phone call, he'd shaken his head. Said he didn't have anyone to call. That was a lie. The truth was, he didn't deserve to call anyone.

He might have killed a man tonight.

Someone stepped in front of him suddenly...he hadn't even heard them enter. They grabbed his bloodstained hands and, producing a key, unlocked the cuffs. He could have just broken them, but honestly didn't feel like he had the energy. He wasn't sure why they were uncuffing him, but he didn't care.

"Peter?" There was someone else kneeling in front of him then, a hand resting on his knee. "Kid, can you look at me?" Slowly, Peter raised his eyes and met the brown ones of Mr. Stark. Of course. Of course Mr. Stark had found out. "Come on. Let's get you out of here."

"I...I can't…I have to stay until…" He wasn't sure, actually. It wasn't like he'd ever been arrested before. Mr. Stark continued to speak in that soft, soothing voice.

"I took care of it, Pete. Come on." Peter felt the man taking his arm and pulling him up, and the boy let himself be pulled. His knees buckled though, and Mr. Stark swore, lunging to catch him. "Are you hurt?" He asked, sounding incredulous. Peter started to say no, but honestly, he wasn't sure.

"I don't know." He whispered through dry lips.

"Okay." The man spoke softly like Peter was a scared dog or something. "Try and walk with me kid." Peter started to take a step, but then it came back to him.

"I think my ankle is broken." Peter ground out, and as if the remembering triggered the pain, he felt a line of fire going up his leg as he leaned more heavily on Mr. Stark, keeping his foot off the ground. The man adjusted his hold on Peter, supporting his left side.

"What happened to your ankle?"

"I...I was stopping some guys and..." Peter shook his head, hating how his voice broke. If he hadn't been out...if he hadn't been trying to be a superhero then May...

Mr. Stark's gentle voice cut him off. "Okay. That's okay, kid. Let's get you out to the car. We can talk later."

"Can I really go?" He asked, voice small as a tear slipped out of his eye. For some reason, he'd expected to be there all night...to be stuff in a cell until morning. The man softened, jaw tight and eyes suspiciously bright as he nodded.

"Yeah, buddy. Let's get you out of here. How long have you been here?"

"I don't know." It was true. He had no idea what time he'd been thrown into the cell...no idea what time it was then.

"You should have called me." The words were gentle, but they still hurt. Still, there was something he needed to know first.

"Where is she?"

"I've had her transferred to the Med Bay. Bruce is taking care of her now."

"What about…" Peter swallowed hard, struggling to get the words out.

"Don't worry about him, buddy."

"I...did I…". Peter swallowed, but he had to know as Mr. Stark helped him hobble past the police officers milling around and the other people in handcuffs.

"He's alive, Pete." Peter felt boneless all of a sudden...his legs gave out as he let out a sob, but Mr. Stark was there to catch him, staggering a little under his weight.

"Alright, buddy. It's okay. Hey…" A hand clasped his cheek and Peter realized that they were still in the cell. He wanted out of the cell. He wanted ou!

"I have to...get out I...I have to get out...Mr. Stark please…"

"Okay. Let's go." He wrapped a firm arm around Peter's waist, practically carrying him through the police station. Peter couldn't tell if people were staring at him. He didn't care. He needed to get out. And Mr. Stark got him out. Suddenly Happy was there too, pulling the door open and getting an arm under Peter's other side so that Mr. Stark could balance him a little better.

"Mr. Stark? Mr. Stark? Is it true that…" The flashes of light hit Peter hard and he would have dropped had Happy not scooped him up, a hand pressing into the back of his head so that Peter's face was flush against his shoulder. People were shouting questions, but then they were at a car and Mr. Stark was taking him, easing him into a car, Happy blocking the flashes of light with his body as Mr. Stark shut the car door.

Peter was only alone in the back seat for about five seconds before Mr. Stark was climbing in beside him. He sat on his own side for a long moment, his eyes on Peter, before he finally moved over to the middle right as Happy took off. Tentatively, the man lifted an arm and wrapped it around Peter's shoulders, and Peter slumped against him, head going naturally to his shoulder. "How did you break your ankle?"

"I was on patrol." He whispered, fuzzy brain struggling to put the events in the right order. "I...I stopped a drug deal but he...one of them...they hit me with a pipe or something...while I was swinging. I got away...swung home. He was…" Peter felt his stomach lurch and Mr. Stark put a hand on his back as Peter pressed his hand to his mouth.

"Okay...you don't have to talk about it right now. It's okay. Deep breaths, Pete. Does it hurt?" Too wrung out to lie, Peter nodded. "We're going to get your ankle fixed and then we can talk."

"Is she okay?" He asked, voice breaking once he was sure he wouldn't throw up in Mr. Stark's nice car.

"Bruce is looking her over." Mr. Stark told him again, voice very carefully even.

"I should have known."

"No. You can't do this to yourself. You had no way of knowing, Peter."

"They fought sometimes...they fought and I didn't realize…"

"Everyone fights sometimes, Pete. Hell, Pepper and I fight. That doesn't mean…". The man trailed off as Peter dropped his head in his hands.

He'd liked Simon. May had started dating him about six months ago, and even though Peter had been hesitant at first, he'd grown to like the man. Three weeks ago, May had brought him to Peter's science fair and the man had met Mr. Stark for the first time.

"Mr. Stark. It's an honor to meet you." The man had said, shaking the billionaire's hand. "May's told me all about what you've done for Peter. It's pretty incredible."

Mr. Stark had smiled, dropping a hand on Peter's shoulder and squeezing. "He's an incredible kid."

Later he'd taken Peter and May out for dinner, inviting Mr. Stark to come too, and he'd insisted on paying for everyone. When Peter and Mr. Stark had been alone for a minute, Mr. Stark had turned to him. "He seems pretty nice. What do you think of him?"

Shyly, Peter has smiled up at the man. "I really like him. He makes May happy and...he really is nice." More than that, he'd taken an interest in Peter. Invited him to help when he'd fixed their shower and showed him a couple of things on May's car. He never made Peter feel like he didn't want him around...never yelled at Peter or snapped at him or tried to take Ben's place. And it had felt good to have him around. Like...okay, not like Ben. But similar.

When Peter had walked in on he and May fighting, Simon would always be the one to put an immediate stop to it, smiling sheepishly and usually apologizing. May would apologize too, assuring Peter that everything was fine. And Peter had believed them...had just assumed they were regular fights. He hadn't thought anything of the broken dishes he would sometimes find in the trash. The fact that May had started wearing more makeup.

His spider senses hadn't gone off...because he hadn't been in danger. May had.

So he'd missed the warning signs. The way May would wear long sleeves sometimes. The fighting. How she'd been so careful to do what Simon wanted. But...but it hadn't been obvious! It had started so small and...and he'd always been nice to Peter! Always! He'd even started to think...Peter shoved that thought down, unable to bear it.

When they reached the compound, a doctor he didn't recognize was waiting for them with a wheelchair, and Peter didn't argue when Mr. Stark helped him into it. He didn't care. Didn't care as he was wheeled into the building and to the medbay. He didn't see May around...but he didn't ask again. "Did the police know about your ankle?" Mr. Stark asked, an edge to his voice, and Peter shook his head. They'd practically dragged him out of the apartment and into the elevator...but he couldn't remember much past that. He'd probably just leaned on his right side but...he couldn't be sure.

"I don't think so." Mr. Stark nodded slowly, rubbing his shoulder a little.

The doctor moved silently, Mr. Stark helping him into the bed, something that would usually have embarrassed him, but all he could think of was May...her sobbing. The way she'd cowered away from Simon's hand.

Himself screaming.

Then blood. So much blood.

The doctor put a cast on his ankle after taking a couple of x-rays and it throbbed and ached but he didn't care. He wanted to see May. Needed to see that she was okay with his own eyes. And Mr. Stark seemed to know that because he had Bruce come in once he got Peter settled in bed. The man didn't ask how he was doing, just got straight to it.

"Her right wrist was sprained, and I put her in a cast. The cut on her head needed seven stitches but she's resting now. She was asking for you while you were getting your cast on, but the painkillers put her to sleep." He paused, then his face softened. "She's going to be fine. No permanent damage."

"You can both stay here. For as long as you want." Mr. Stark murmured. Peter nodded, swallowing hard, and then Bruce was gone and Mr. Stark was climbing onto the bed beside him, wrapping an arm around his shoulders. "Alright, buddy. Think you can tell me what happened?""

"I could have killed him." Mr. Stark shook his head.

"You didn't." Peter sniffed, wiping at his face. "Kid. You didn't kill him. He's going to live. In jail, but still." Peter leaned against the man, letting him guide Peter's head to his shoulder.

"I liked him."

"You didn't know, Peter."

"I should have." The man tightened his arm around Peter's shoulders, pulling a blanket up to his chest, and Peter shivered a little, realizing for the first time that he was cold. "I never saw him drink...not like that. I should have been around more."

"You cannot blame yourself for this, bud. Hey…" Mr. Stark put a hand on his cheek, turning him so that he had to look at him. "This was not your fault. You didn't know. You never would have let this happen if you'd know. Right?" Peter nodded, feeling like his senses were slowly returning. "Okay. Do you think you can tell me what happened?"

So Peter started with the drug deal...getting his ankle broken and swinging home. Crawling in through his window and changing out of his suit, planning on calling Mr. Stark. And then...he'd heard the crying. "May...she was telling him to stop. And he was yelling...I never heard him yell like that. He was drinking and...I don't know why he was so mad." Mr. Stark didn't ask him any questions, just nodded. Waited. "I went in...he...he had her against the wall and he was trying to…" He swallowed. "She kept saying no and she was crying. I told him to leave her alone…"

He'd screamed it, horror making a knot in his stomach.

"He yelled at me. Acted like he was going to grab me...May tried to grab his arm and he shoved her." Peter bit down on his lip, shaking his head. "She tripped..."

"That's when she hit her head?" Mr. Stark asked, a thumb rubbing over the back of his neck.

"On the nightstand." He nodded. "And then...you hit him?"

"I...yeah...I punched him and then…"

And then he'd kept punching him.

Mr. Stark nodded, pulling him closer and resting his chin on Peter's hair. He was crying again, Peter realized as he felt tears drip down his face. "It's okay. It's going to be okay, kiddo. I've got you." Peter closed his eyes, unable to stop the sobs now that they'd started. Mr. Stark didn't push him away though, just sat there, holding him until someone else came into the room, placing something into Mr. Stark's hands. Then the man took one of Peter's hands, gently rubbing what turned out to be a warm washcloth over his hands. Washing away the blood.

_**Thank you for reading! **_


	7. Biological Dad

********** THIS STORY TAKES PLACE AT THE END OF ENDGAME AND THUS HAS SPOILERS********

**However, I refuse to accept the end of that movie as canon. Instead, I wrote this. This takes place during the Tiny Penny Parker series where Tony is Penny's biological dad. There are no major character deaths in this one (except Thanos. Screw Thanos.)**

_Trope: Biological Dad_

"Penny." The girl opened her eyes at her name, staring up at what looked to be a pulsing yellow light. "Penny." Someone knelt beside her, and memories came back quickly.

"Doctor…" She coughed, blinking up at the man. "Doctor Strange?"

She'd been in her dad's arms...he'd been staring down at her in horror and so much fear. Looking around the strange desert where she lay on her back, she quickly found the others. Quill and the antenna lady and the...big one. With the tattoos. "It's time to get up. We've been sleeping long enough." He told her, holding out a hand, his smile surprisingly soft. "It's time to go help your dad."

Her dad. She'd been in his arms. He'd held her until she fell and his eyes had begged her not to leave him and then...she'd fallen asleep? Passed out? She didn't have time to think about it as she stood, letting him pull her to her feet. Looking around, she tried to find her dad...he would be there, right? He'd been with her when she'd passed out. When she'd gotten dusty and felt herself...disintegrate. She'd turned to dust! The thought made her shudder. Her dad had held her and then she'd turned to dust and...she'd left him. And she had no idea how long it had been.

She didn't see her father, but she also didn't see Thanos. Just the name made her shiver a little as she stared up at Doctor Strange who watched her with a strange look on his face. "Where is he?" She asked, voice shaking. "Where's my dad?"

"Wait...you're Stark's daughter?" Quill asked, pointing a finger at her, and she nodded, sniffing and crossing her arms over her chest, the thick metal of her suit reassuringly heavy. It made her feel solid. LIke she wasn't going to disappear again. Crumble away to dust.

I'm sorry.

Those had been her last words to her father. She'd known that he would blame himself over this. That he would worry over her...that he'd never forgive himself for this even though none of it was his fault. And still, he'd just stared down at her, as if his hand on her arm and his eyes locked on hers could keep her there. In the end, the last thing she remembered was looking just past him to the sky. An unfamiliar sky...filled with strange stars against a hazy orange sky. She might have cried...she couldn't remember. The last thing she'd seen was dust.

And then, a light. The light of a portal. Doctor Strange had started to make a portal. A golden light in a circle above the ground. "Are you ready?" He asked her.

"Ready for what?" She asked, not sure what was gone on. She'd been asleep and now she was awake and none of it made sense. But Doctor Strange was watching her, expectant.

"To fight him again. To help your father."

Was she ready to fight Thanos again? To face that monster? No. Of course not. How could she ever be ready? But her dad needed her. And she was Spidergirl...she was a hero. So she nodded. "Let's do it." She whispered, glancing up at Quill and the other two, a slight smile on her face, but she knew her lips were trembling. That something terrible and strange had happened the first time they'd faced Thanos, and now they would have to face him again.

The portal opened, and Penny couldn't believe her eyes. The ruins of a huge building that it took her a moment to recognize were the backdrop of a battle. The Avengers compound had been reduced to a giant pile of rubble, beams and glass laying everywhere. Gray and black were the only colors she could see...and bodies. Bodies of alien monsters and...Steve knelt on the ground, a shield that looked to be utterly destroyed on his arm, and when he met her eyes, his own widened in horror, then something like relief. It had been so long since she'd seen Steve. She wanted to run to him...to throw her arms around him like she had when she was little. But this was a battleground. Still, she smiled at him, lifting up a hand and waving with her fingers. He snorted, grinning at her just a little, eyes shining.

Penny looked around, watching as other portals appeared and more people stepped out of them. The Black Panther and an entire army. Sam and his wingsuit, along with Bucky and more sorcerers like Doctor Strange with magic coming from their hands. Then a woman on a horse, followed by others, all with swords and axes. And there were more...all around the terrible, gray battlefield filled with monsters like the ones on the first attack on New York were huge portals...filled with people ready to fight.

And so was she. She had to be. She was Spidergirl. And she would help her dad.

Leaping forward, she shot a web, jumping into action. "Karen? You with me?" She asked as her mask materialized over her face.

"Hello, Penny." Tears filled her eyes as she smiled. She didn't know how long she'd been away, nor did she remember any of it, but she had a feeling that it had been a long time.

"It's so good to hear from you again." She murmured, launching herself into the battle. Talking made it less scary somehow. "I missed you." Dodging under the arm of a...giant, monster alien thing, she shot another web at its leg, spinning around and tripping it up, just like in Star Wars.

"I missed you as well, Penny." So much was happening...so many armies swarming the battlefield. She did her best to focus on what was happening right in front of her...monsters. Aliens. Web. Punch. Duck. Jump. Remember to breathe. She wasn't afraid, she realized. No time. No fear. Just movement. Duck, lunge, web, punch, duck. Don't scream. Don't cry out. Fight. Remember everything and fight!

And then, from the corner of her eye, she saw the Iron Man suit go flying, a huge alien coming after it. She webbed it by the arm, pulling as hard as she could and knocking it to the ground. Then she scurried past it, shooting a web and flipping over another one of those monsters, landing on her toes and then hurrying over to the armor...to her father. "Dad!" She cried, racing up to him, and he turned, jaw dropping as he looked at her...looked at her like this could only be a dream. Like it couldn't be real. She knew that feeling. And so she spoke, forcing her voice to be light as she reached out her hands and pulled him to his feet.

"Hey, Dad! This is crazy, right? Remember when we went to space and I got all dusty? I must have passed out because the next thing I know, Doctor Strange was telling me that we'd been sleeping for long enough and that we had to help you…" He was moving toward her and before she could react, he was grabbing her, yanking her close and holding her, his hand on the back of her head as he shook.

"Penny." He whispered her name, one hand moving over her back as if to make sure she was solid. As if to make sure it was really her. She shuddered, sniffing and burying her face in his armor. And for just a moment, she let go, a sob shaking her body.

She was scared she was scared she was scared.

"Daddy…"

"I'm here. I've got you. Penny...my Penny. I'm here, baby. I've got you. I love you so much...I thought...thought I'd never…" She shook her head, well aware of the battle raging around them.

"I love you too." She whispered, smiling when he cupped her cheek.

But then there were aliens and fighting and screaming and she had to pull away...had to fight. Had to watch her father fight for his own life as she struggled to save her own, ordering Karen to reassemble her mask over her head. The goggles helped her focus a little, and Karen did a great job of filtering out some of the noise. It was going...okay. She couldn't see the bigger picture, but she guessed she didn't need to. Instead, she focused on what she could, trying to stick close to her dad so that she could keep an eye on him. He was doing the same, she could tell.

And then…"Pen! Catch!" Penny turned just in time to catch the gauntlet that Steve threw her, grabbing it and holding it to her chest.

"Go, Penny!" Rhodey ordered in her ear, the two of them standing ready to fight as Thanos seemed to regroup. Steve was looking a little worse for wear, and she worried that he would fall over at any moment. Still, he had dragged himself back to his feet. "Get it away from him!"

And she started to. She turned to run. Saw the eyes of Thanos on her, huge and furious as Steve struggled to stay on his feet. All around her was screaming and the cries of aliens dying and people dying and...and then there was Doctor Strange. He was doing something with his hands, holding back a wall of water. But he turned and caught her eyes, holding up a finger. Smiling just a little

He'd seen the future. All of the possible futures.

He'd seen one where they won.

This was the endgame.

"Penny, go!" Steve screamed, stumbling under a blow, his ruined shied barely covering him. There was screaming and fighting all around her, and she knew that if she survived, she was going to have nightmares about this. The thought almost made her smile. She'd deal with the nightmares if she could just survive. "Get it away from here. Go!"

"Penny!" She heard her father cry, just before Thanos knocked him out of the way, the suit colliding with a pile of rubble, and her heart practically stopped before she saw him get back up.

"Kid! Get the gauntlet away from here!" Rhodey ordered in his serious military voice.

There was an army on one side of her, Thanos on the other. And people were yelling at her to go. To run. To get away.

But this was the endgame.

Penny took a deep breath, signaling for her mask to dematerialize, nanobots skittering over her face as it disappeared. But still, everything seemed to be on mute...the screaming and dying, the fire in the background, the water being held back by the wizards. Steve was on his knees, struggling to pull himself back to his feet. She could hear her father screaming her name in the background. She knew that Pepper was around...she'd seen her in the armor. But Penny was going to end this. Now. Before anyone else had to die.

She held up the gauntlet with her right hand, almost able to feel the stones humming. Doctor Strange had talked about them...they were too powerful for a human to use. But she wasn't fully human, was she? She didn't look at her father as she slipped her left hand into the golden metal glove that might have been heavy had she not been Spidergirl. It was huge and awkward on her hand, but somehow, it fit.

And immediately there was pain. The kind that raced up and down her arm and then through her body, surrounding her with a rainbow glow that would have been beautiful had it not felt like it was burning her from the inside. Despite the urge to drop, she stayed on her feet, aware in some part of her brain that she was screaming...that other people were screaming too. Her father was screaming her name...so was Steve, arm outstretched...but he was too far away to stop her. So was her dad. The two men reached for her, but before they could move, she lifted her arm, ignoring Thanos's roar of fury as he moved closer.

Her left arm shook as she held it up and she had to gasp for air, forcing her throat to stop the noise. If this was going to kill her, she wouldn't die screaming. Everything was hazy as she stared at Thanos, the one who had turned her to nothing...the one who had haunted her father's dreams and killed so many people even before this last battle. And it would be his last battle. She wanted to say something witty, if only to stall for time. Because he had to know that she was scared. Because she didn't want to die. But she knew that this was it...the future that Doctor Strange had seen.

"You're a child! You can't…"

Penny didn't let him finish. She didn't say anything witty or brave or snarky...didn't have the strength to withstand this kind of pain and banter. But she brought her fingers together and remembered. She remembered the first time she met her dad...the first time he came into her room when she was sick and held her. Remembered the first time he told her that he loved her. She thought back to dancing on his feet and being swept up in his arms. The first time she'd swung through the city alone, and the first time she'd swung through the city with Iron Man flying at her side.

Liz. Ned. MJ. Her mother. Uncle Rhodey and Auntie Nat and dancing with Steve in the living room and building LEGOs with Thor and…

A day in the lab. Working on her suit. Led Zeppelin playing in the background, her dad singing along at the top of his lungs. The way he smiled at her when she laughed, eyes going soft and so full of love for her that sometimes she wondered how he could contain it all.

She found her father and smiled, heart aching when she saw the tear falling down his cheek. "I love you, Dad."

And then, closing her eyes and holding onto that memory...holding onto her desire to protect everyone she loved, she snapped her fingers.

When Penny opened her eyes again, she was staggering, then sitting, the gauntlet laying at her side. In front of her, Thanos was staring, mouth open, as he faded away, the edges of his body turning to dust. She wanted to say something clever. Ask him how it felt to lose to a teenage girl. But she could barely lift her head from where it rested against a pile of what she hoped was just rubble. Everywhere, the aliens were turning to dust and scattering into the wind. Monsters were disappearing before her very eyes, and she couldn't keep them open. It was so, blessedly quiet.

"Penny!" Someone knelt in front of her. Her dad. Of course it was her dad. She smiled, tasting blood on her tongue as she forced her eyes open again. "Baby, look at me. You're okay...I'm right here, Pen. I'm here."

"We won." She choked out, and his smile lit up his whole face as he cupped her cheek.

"Yeah...yeah we won. Thanks to you." He was bleeding from his lip, and there was a gash above his eyebrow. But he was okay. He was alive, and so was she, and all she wanted was to take a shower and go to bed, preferably curled up next to him.

"Damn, kid." Someone said to her right, and she glanced over to find Sam and Steve right beside her. On her other side, someone was touching her arm, and she flinched, barely moving her head and gasping when that hurt more.

"Hold on, Penny. I'm almost done." Something was being sprayed on her arm then, and she screamed, throwing her head back and grinding her teeth together.

"Okay...it's okay, honey. It's okay." Her dad murmured, a thumb wiping under her eye. "Just a second. Fri? Scan her." He ordered. She didn't hear her reply, but she didn't need to. Everything hurt, her arm worst of all, and she had a splitting headache. She didn't think she'd ever been in quite this much pain. But already her cells were putting themselves back together.

"Okay. That was just an antibacterial spray. I can do more when we get you to the sanctum."

"Huh?" She asked, recognizing Stephen Strange's voice.

"We're going to the sanctum to get everyone patched up. Well...not everyone. They're opening up portals to Wakanda too. But we're going to take you back to the sanctum." Her father was rambling and she flipped her left hand over, holding it out. Immediately, he took her hand, closing his eyes and pressing his lips together. "You're going to be fine, kiddo. You've got the best doctor on the planet here. And he can make you a balloon animal." Doctor Strange rolled his eyes as he stood, making a portal a few feet away. Past him, she could see why looked like dozens of portals opening everywhere.

"I want a giraffe, Doctor Strange." The man sighed, shaking his head and almost smiling.

"I can offer you a balloon snake, a balloon worm, or a balloon hotdog sans bun." The doctor told her, waving his hand as a portal to what looked like someone's bedroom opened.

"Giraffe or nothing at all." She insisted, ignoring how her voice barely worked...how every word made her headache worse.

"As if there were any doubt about her being your daughter." The doctor muttered, but he didn't really look upset. "Alright. Let's get back to the sanctum. Wong is already there, preparing medical supplies.

Wong...she sort of remembered him being mentioned...maybe. She guessed that she'd find out who he was soon. In the meantime, she had a more pressing problem. "Dad?"

Her father, who hadn't once taken his eyes off of her, jumped to attention, moving closer. "Yeah, baby?"

"I don't think I can walk." Penny admitted, hating to admit to the weakness, but also well aware that she felt like she might pass out at any moment.

"I'll carry you, young Penny." The voice startled her, and she looked past her father to find Thor...but he looked different. One of his eyes was a different color, and his hair was long and matted, blood dripping from a wound on his temple and into his hair. And he looked….tired. So tired. And sad. Pained.

He looked like her dad had looked after the wormhole.

"Thor…" She whispered as he knelt beside her, lifting her easily into his arms. It had been so long...he'd been gone for such a long time. And he looked so much older.

"Yes, I know. I look...different." He told her, wry, almost embarrassed smile turning the corners of his mouth. She remembered the gentle, smiling man who'd sat with her on Christmas eve, building with LEGOS and then holding her in his arms for hours while she'd been sick, and shook her head.

"I missed you so much." She whispered, wrapping her good arm around his neck as best she could and hiding her face in his shoulder, tears soaking into his shirt. "You were gone forever...you promised you'd visit!"

"I know...I'm very sorry." He murmured, holding her just as tightly for a moment, then moved toward the portal, her father only a half step behind. "Apparently I've missed a lot...when did you become Spidergirl, a woman formidable enough to wield the infinity stones?"

"When did you get a different eye?" She countered, making her voice light. "Is that something Asgardians do sometimes? Can you just change your eye color whenever you want?" It took every ounce of energy to keep up the banter, and he seemed to realize even as he chuckled, shifting her so that she could lean her head on his shoulder, her burned arm bent painfully and resting on her stomach. She tried not to look at it...at the burned, blistered skin.

"That is a story for another time, young Penny." He told her, laying her gently on a bed in what looked to be a large bedroom. She couldn't take much of it in, though, as her vision was fading at the edges. Eyes struggling to take in the people who'd come, she tried to count. To find everyone. But she could barely focus...she was so tired.

"Just rest, baby. The doc's going to look you over, and if you're lucky, when you wake up, he'll pull a rabbit out of his hat." She had to giggle at that, about to tell him that Doctor Strange didn't have a hat, but she didn't have the energy. Instead, she closed her eyes as someone poked her in the arm with a needle, and someone else released her suit. She was fine...her dad was with her. Thanos was gone. Thor was back, and everyone was safe.

Everything was going to be okay.


	8. Nightmares

**This takes place after Endgame but ignores Endgame**

_Trope: Nightmares_

Tony Stark is no stranger to nightmares. Honestly, he feels like he should be used to them by now. Ever since Afghanistan...since arriving home and throwing himself into working on the Iron Man armor, he's had trouble sleeping. Some days he feels like he hasn't had a good night's sleep in years. So when he flies overhead in his armor only to watch Peter fall...when he races toward him as fast as his armor will go, arms outstretched, ready to crash if he can only save his boy, he should know. Some small part of his brain should know. But it doesn't.

Friday tells him that the suit is at full capacity, but just like Rhodey, the boy falls, lifeless.

Then Peter is stuck to the side of the ship that took them to space, and in the way of dreams, Tony is racing after him, ready to catch him. "You gotta let go, Pete. I'm going to catch you."

Because of course, he'd catch him. Right? Hadn't he deployed a suit? But Peter was falling, his body slumping, mask falling from limp fingers, and Tony reached for him, but the boy slipped through his arms or was too far away. Or maybe Peter was falling too fast. He couldn't tell...either way, he was kneeling at Peter's side. His mask was gone, blood running from his nose.

"Pete? Peter…" He was reaching for the boy, so afraid to touch him...so afraid to move him. The boy didn't move, and he knew. He knew because it was a nightmare and there's no way he would already know but he did, his brain insisting. The boy was dead. Not turned to dust...not gone in a way that could maybe be reversed. He'd gotten his kid back and now he was dead, and the pain was crippling, his chest tight and painful. "No...please...no." He whispered, voice cracking. "Please. Come on, Pete. Please." He slipped a hand underneath Peter's neck, lifting him a little, but Peter was cold and limp and...gone.

He'd just gotten him back. He'd lost Peter on Titan...they'd lost so many. So many people had been turned to dust and just...gone. And then they'd gotten them back. Because Tony hadn't been able to accept a world where Peter Parker was gone. Because Tony hadn't been able to live with himself...hadn't been able to move on...because Peter was his kid, and he loved him, and he'd never told the boy. He'd never told Peter how much he loved him. How important he was to him. He'd held Peter at arm's length and allowed him to ever so slowly get closer but not really. He'd been afraid of being hurt...of messing the kid up or something.

Then he'd lost him.

Then he'd gotten him back.

It had taken years and it was still strange...he knew it was strange for Peter too to suddenly be several years in the future. Ane Tony knew that the kid was having a hard time. That it was all so strange and terrible but also wonderful because he'd gotten his boy back. But now, kneeling on pavement and cradling the child in his arms...Peter was gone again. He was gone and Tony knew that he'd never get him back. That he'd never get to hold him again or hear him laugh or tell a stupid joke or go on patrols with him or watch with so much pride as he saved someone. His boy was gone. He was gone he was gone he was gone and Tony didn't know how to live in a world where he'd lost him again! His chest was tight and his breath barely came and he didn't care because his boy was gone and he didn't want to do this again! Not again! He'd already felt this pain, and the relief when it was taken away! Why did he have to suffer the pain again!

"Mr. Stark?"

He knew that voice. That was Peter...opening his eyes, he stared down at Peter who hadn't moved and who still had blood dripping from his nose and who was still dead. But he still heard the voice. "Mr. Stark? Um...hey...wake up…" A hand touched his shoulder and he suddenly got it, his brain deciding that someone was trying to take Peter away from him.

He gripped Peter's body in his arms, taking ragged breaths and trying to protect this child one last time. "No." He whispered it, shaking his head. They weren't taking his boy. He'd just gotten him back! This was his kid and he couldn't lose him. Not again. "Peter…" The word was anguished, a sob following as he rocked the boy back and forth.

"Mr. Stark...I'm right here." A soft voice informed him. "Wake up." A hand gripped his shoulder more firmly and immediately, Tony was awake, gasping for air as he stared up at the ceiling...his ceiling. Someone moved beside him and he whirled around, turning to face Peter Parker, who took a step back, hands up, eyes huge. Eyes open. Alive. He was alive. "I'm sorry. You were calling for me and…"

Tony almost fell in his haste to get up, feet tangling in his blankets as he threw himself out of bed, reaching out for Peter and yanking the boy into his arms. Peter came willingly, resting his chin on Tony's shoulder. Peter was warm and solid and alive and Tony...he was crying, jaw clenched so tightly that his teeth felt like they might break. He was shaking and he couldn't stop, but Peter was holding him too, his arms tight around Tony, like he was holding him together. "It's okay." The boy murmured, rocking him back and forth like he was a toddler. "It's okay, Mr. Stark."

He finally released his death grip on the kid, reaching up and placing a hand against his cheek, checking for blood or bruises or anything that would signify a long fall. His brain was catching up though, informing him now that everything was okay, that Peter was fine and alive and other than being somewhat worried about him, completely safe and healthy. Peter was staying with him at the tower, as he'd done several times since coming back to life. Tony had a feeling that he felt safer at the tower, but he didn't blame the kid. He felt safer there too, high above the city in a fortified building designed to withstand attack. "Are you okay?" He asked Peter, a thumb rubbing over his cheek. He knew it was a ridiculous question. He knew that if anything, Peter should be asking him that considering he was having some kind of breakdown. But Peter just nodded.

"Yeah. I'm okay. Everyone's okay." Tony glanced at the bed, remembering that Pepper was on a business trip in DC with Rhodey...that he'd stayed behind to spend some time with Peter. To spend time with his kid.

"I love you, kid." The words burst out, and Tony struggled to get control of himself, a hand gripping Peter's shoulder. "I love you so much. I never told you before and that was stupid but you're like my kid and I love you, Pete."

Peter blinked, seeming to fight with something...it was two am so he was probably exhausted, but he still smiled, face softening as he moved forward again, hugging Tony more gently, less desperately this time. "I love you too, Mr. Stark. And...I knew. Before everything…I knew that you loved me. Even if you never said it...you always showed me."

Tony felt like he was melting, stress and guilt he hadn't even noticed had been weighing him down seeming to lift away. "You're the best kid. Did you know that?" Peter laughed a little, squeezing him one more time before pulling away and guiding Tony back to his bed.

"Yeah, I mean...I did. But it's still nice of you to say it." Tony chuckled, letting Peter guide him until he was sitting down. Moving the covers, Peter pulled the blankets back up to his chest, practically tucking him in. "Get some more sleep, Mr. Stark." And Tony felt so exhausted and relieved and just...heavy, that he closed his eyes, starting to relax until someone sat on the bed beside him.

He jumped, turning to the other side of the bed to find Peter dropping onto the pillow that Pepper usually slept on, yawning and curling up in a ball on top of the comforter. Chuckling, Tony grabbed the blankets and draped them over the boy who smiled with his eyes still firmly shut. He thought about making a joke, or asking if Peter had gotten lost on his way back to his bed, but he was just so grateful to have his kid back that he scooted over, throwing an arm around Peter, and letting himself fall asleep almost instantly.

Neither of them had any more nightmares that night.


	9. Alcohol

**_This takes place after Endgame but ignores Endgame. It was also inspired by a prompt: Peter finds Tony very upset, surrounded by alcohol, but Tony insists he hasn't had any._**

_Trope: Alcohol_

Peter threw his head back and yawned, stretching and groaning as he pushed his textbook away. It had a few weeks since he'd gotten back. He wanted to laugh at the thought. Gotten back. As if he'd gone somewhere. Voluntarily.

Reappeared.

Rematerialized. On Titan.

Peter shook his head hard, scrubbing a hand over his face. He was technically older now, but he was still in high school. A lot of people were. Ned. MJ. Both lost in a snap. And…Peter put a hand over his eyes, swallowing hard. Very determinedly swallowing. Taking a deep breath. Not again. He'd already thrown up twice that morning after a nightmare. A nightmare made up of orange and rocks and death and he had been so afraid and Mr. Stark had been there when he'd woken up, gasping and almost falling in his haste to get to the toilet where he'd done the throwing up.

"It's okay…hey, buddy. It's okay. I'm here, kiddo."

And he had been. Ever since Peter had gotten back, Mr. Stark had been there. There had been that first hug on the battlefield, and after Carol, who was the coolest person Peter had ever met, had snapped her fingers and ended it all, Mr. Stark had hugged him again. Had sought him out and thrown his arms around him and kissed his head.

"I love you, kid. So much…shit…I missed you. I missed you, buddy." Mr. Stark's voice had broken and Peter had hugged him tighter, rubbing his back, a little worried. "I missed you so much, Pete."

"I'm sorry…" Peter had started, not sure what exactly to say.

"Don't. Don't apologize, Peter." Mr. Stark had pulled away, hands on Peter's shoulder in the midst of the battlefield that was no longer a battlefield. All around them, people had been getting patched up and the Avengers had been hugging and talking to one another and Tony had gone straight to him. "I have a daughter now…god…I have a little girl and she knows all about you and…" He'd wiped a hand over his face, shaking his head. "Sorry. I'm sorry, kid."

"No…I…" Peter had faltered, then moved closer, almost hesitantly, and Mr. Stark and wrapped him in his arms again. "I'm okay. I'm back. Everything's okay. We won." The man had nodded, sniffing a little.

"Yeah. We won."

"I can't wait to meet your daughter. It sounds like you oversold me. Hopefully, she won't be disappointed." Mr. Stark had chuckled, shaking his head.

"She couldn't be, Peter."

She hadn't been. Morgan had taken one look at him, her face had lit up, and then she'd rushed into his arms, jumping into them, and he'd barely had time to catch her. "Peter!"

Peter had laughed a little, meeting Mr. Stark's eyes, surprised that the man had been looking away, sniffing and rubbing absently at his eyes. Feeling like he was intruding, he'd focused on Morgan once more, holding her at eye level. "Hi. It's nice to meet you, Morgan."

"Daddy told me you were like my big brother, and he said you were a superhero like him and Mom, and he said that I might get to meet you one day."

"Wow…yeah. I'm…um…"

"Will you read me a bedtime story tonight?"

"I…if…I don't know if I'm going to be here that long…" May had said that she was fine with him going to Mr. Stark's lake house for the day. She had been snapped too…honestly, it's like they'd barely missed any time together. But he knew that she was freaked out.

"Stay as late as you want, Pete. Hell, stay as long as you want." Mr. Stark had urged.

That night, Peter had read her a bedtime story. Then Mr. Stark had shown him his bedroom. A spare room that Mr. Stark had made into a bedroom for him. "Mr. Stark…when…"

"It was in the first draft of the building plan I drew up."

And that had been that.

It was kind of…not strange. It was nice. It was…a lot. One moment, he'd been on Titan with Mr. Stark, the next he'd found himself on a battlefield, also with Mr. Stark who now had a daughter and was married to Pepper and lived in a lake house…and who had gray hair. And apparently, Mr. Stark had really, really missed him. Of course, they'd gotten closer since he'd beaten the Vulture. Of course, he'd come to see the man as like a father. It just seemed like Mr. Stark had come to see him the same way.

It was weird.

High school, he muttered to himself. He needed to focus on high school and…he checked the front on his textbook, eyes blurry from exhaustion and probably boredom…Physics. He would probably need Physics. It was a Friday night…well, closer to Saturday morning, and Mr. Stark had picked him up after school, Morgan in the car, excited to see him.

It was all very new.

The little girl had gone to bed a few hours ago, granting him time to do some homework. Mr. Stark had promised lab time later, so that was exciting. He had a lab in his lake house, of course, and Peter had been promised a tour and also enough materials to make his web fluid…not that he'd been Spiderman since coming back. Still…he would. Eventually. Probably.

He perked up at the sound of something breaking. A glass. Blinking, he stood from his desk in his bedroom…his bedroom in Mr. Stark's lake house. No matter how many times he thought the words, it was still weird. Leaving his room but leaving his door cracked, he peered into Morgan's room next door. Her door was cracked too, a little blue night light glowing in the corner…she was fast asleep. He listened at the door of Pepper and Mr. Stark's room…he could hear her breathing, but not him. He'd heard the two of them earlier…just a little. When the fight had started, he'd put in his earbuds, making sure not to listen in. Everyone fought.

Mr. Stark had seemed…strange earlier. Not quite upset, but he'd stuck close to Peter's side, the four of them eating dinner together, and then they had all headed out to the lake. It was still warm enough to swim, and Peter and Morgan had gotten in the water while Mr. Stark and Pepper had stayed on the shore in lounge chairs, Pepper with a book, Mr. Stark just watching them. Morgan had worn herself out after about an hour, but instead of getting out of the water, she'd clung to Peter who had lay on his back in the water, holding her on his chest, and there she'd fallen asleep until he'd carried her in.

When Mr. Stark had taken her from his arms after a few minutes, afraid she would get cold, the man had had that strange look in his eyes. Still, he'd patted Peter on the shoulder before carrying Morgan in and getting her in a bath.

Being as quiet as he could, he listened for Mr. Stark's footsteps, heartbeat, breathing…any of it would give away his position. He wasn't sure what could have broken…then there came the sound of something else breaking…a glass. Peter hurried toward the sound, padding down the stairs and coming to an abrupt halt in the middle of the staircase.

Mr. Stark stood in the middle of his lab, which looked like a tornado had ripped through it. There were papers scattered all around, and in one corner, a pile of glass shards. On the table beside the man were three bottles of dark colored alcohol, and Mr. Stark was gripping a glass in his hand, head lowered, shoulders shaking. For a moment, Peter wanted to leave. He was intruding. Mr. Stark wouldn't want him seeing this. Then the man let out a sob, pulling his arm back, then letting the glass fly into the far corner with the others before covering his face with his hands.

Peter tiptoed down the stairs, clearing his throat as he approached the man, and Mr. Stark jumped, turning to Peter with haunted, red-rimmed eyes. Before he could say anything, Peter put his hands on his shoulders, peering into his eyes. "Are you okay?" He asked, his voice a whisper.

"I didn't…Pete, I swear I didn't drink anything." Peter nodded slowly, glancing at the three bottles of alcohol.

"Okay." He knew about the man's past. He knew that Mr. Stark had been an alcoholic. And he'd never seen the man drink anything alcoholic, but hadn't known if Mr. Stark had totally given it up.

"I don't want to. I don't want it." Peter nodded again.

"Okay."

Leaving the man standing where he was, Peter grabbed the three bottles by their necks, carried them over to the sink, then opened one, hesitating just a little. But Mr. Stark was silent as he opened it, then began to pour the contents down the sink. One after the other, he emptied all three bottles, then lay them carefully in the trash. "There. Now you don't…"

He was cut off when Mr. Stark threw his arms around him, gripping so tight that it might have hurt had Peter not been enhanced. He remembered their hug on the battlefield, his shocked words. "Oh…this is nice." It seemed out of place now, so he just hugged him back, resting his chin on the man's shoulder. For a long time, the man struggled to control his breathing, and Peter stayed where he was, trying to be the strong one. Trying to hold him up. Physically, he could do it. But seeing the man shatter like this…it was terrifying. Tony Stark was Iron Man. He was larger than life and so cool and strong and he knew almost everything.

Now he was sobbing into Peter's shoulder.

He started to speak, but then the man took a deep, shuddering breath, pulling away and shaking his head. "Sorry, kid."

"You don't have to be…are you okay, Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, buddy. I'm fine." He hesitated, then smiled a sad smile. "It was bad enough seeing you die once. But every night…". He shook his head, wiping a hand over his eyes. "Every fucking night I watch you disappear again, kid."

Not sure if he was even doing the right thing, Peter moved forward and hugged him again, this time gentler. Less desperate. "I'm okay, Tony. I'm fine. It's not real.

You don't have to worry about me."

Mr. Stark rubbed his back, letting out a scoff. "I always worry about you, Peter. Can't help it. You're my kid."

There was more to be said, of course. And they'd get to it one day, but for the moment, Peter figures that Mr. Stark could use something mindless. Something fun. "Want to watch a movie?"

He chuckled. "Sure Pete. Star Wars?"

Peter felt the blood drain from his face and he shook his head. "No." He whispered, feeling nausea rise in his stomach. "Nothing in space."

The man's face softened and Mr. Stark put a hand on his back. "Alright, buddy. You're right. I'm sick of that one anyway. How about something Disney? Zootopia?"

Peter nodded. That one was light. Funny. Had nothing to do with dead parents or outer space or the memories of war that he couldn't seem to escape. "Yeah. Sounds good."

With a firm hand on his back, Tony led him up the stairs, leaving the mess to be cleaned up the next day.

_**Thank you for reading!**_


	10. Mission Gone Wrong

_Trope: Mission Gone Wrong_

The mission had, technically, been successful. Bad guys taken out, illegal alien weapons recovered and safely disposed of...ever since Toomes, Penny and Mr. Stark had been trying to clean up the city...to get rid of the alien weapons that had found their way into the black market. At first, Penny had sort of been on her own, with Mr. Stark supervising from afar. Keeping tabs on her and such. But then, after a particular mission where Penny had finally been forced to ask for backup, he'd started showing up during her patrols, especially if she said the words 'alien weapon.'

This particular bust had been weeks in the making. Lots of planning, tracking...waiting around for someone to do something illegal. There was a considerable amount of legal gray area when I came to owning weapons made with Chuitari tech, so they tended to wait until the criminals were actually using them to try and take them down. The gang had been causing some trouble around Queens mostly, but after a couple of weeks of watching, they'd finally attempted to rob a bank.

Cue Spidergirl.

And Iron Man.

It hadn't been the worst fight Penny had ever been in. Lots of alien weapons...about four or five, but she liked to think that she was getting better at this whole fighting thing. Enhanced reflexes and super strength and a sense for when things were about to hit her, not to mention sparring with Natasha, had given her a foundation to work off of. So she thought she'd done pretty good. That is, until one of the men had gotten her with a knife.

The knife had cut through her suit, slicing her in the arm. It had barely bled, so she hadn't been worried. Pressing a glove covered hand to it, she had hesitated for a moment, stepping back and webbing him to a wall...and then she'd gone back to the fight. Back to taking down people with real weapons. And sure, her arm had stung a little, but she'd been fine.

Totally fine.

They had wrapped it up fairly quickly, and then they'd been on their way back to the tower, Penny meeting Mr. Stark a few blocks away once the cops arrived, and then climbing into the back of a car driven by Happy who hadn't exactly lived up to his name. "You know this is my night off?" He asked, glaring back at them in the rearview mirror.

Penny smirked, well aware by now that his griping was just for show. Mostly. Mr. Stark had already pulled out his phone, thumbs flying

Over the touchscreen. "Mhm." He muttered.

"And you know I had a date?" Penny scrunched her nose, glaring out the window. It had been a month and a half since he and her aunt had gone on their first date and she had yet to get used to it. A sharp stinging in her arm distracted her from Mr. Stark's reply, but then they were moving and she wondered if he was taking her home.

"Kid, how's a sleepover sound?" Mr. Stark asked, and she grimaced.

"Is Happy staying over at my aunt's?" Her mentor gave her an apologetic smile and she shuddered. "Gross."

Mr. Stark gave her a friendly pat on the shoulder before going back to his phone, and Penny took the opportunity to glance at her arm. The cut was healing fine, but the skin around it was red...she poked it with a frown and winced. It was hot.

The drive seemed to stretch for hours, even though it couldn't have been longer than twenty minutes, tops. It was late, and New York traffic was starting to die down a little as Happy made his way back to the tower. The tower was in sight when her stomach twisted, the pain making her grit her teeth and bite back a gasp.

Glancing over at Mr. Stark, she opened her mouth to speak, but the pain choked her, turning to nausea so fast that her head spun...or maybe that was the dizziness. The world moved around her as Happy drove, the sounds of horns honking and her heart beating so loud in her ears...she pressed a hand to her arm and flinched. It was hot.

"I...police...should…weapons…". Mr. Stark was saying, not that anything he said made any sense. It hurt...it hurt so much and she tried to breathe through it but they were parking and Mr. Stark was still on his phone, climbing out of the car without a second glance.

In the front seat, Happy took a deep breath before speaking. "Look, kid, I know that this thing with your aunt and me is...weird." He started, sounding almost sheepish. Penny could feel the Earth spinning, a weird feeling in both of her ears knocking her off balance as the pain in her stomach turned sharper somehow, and her whole body was covered in sweat. "But I don't want you to think…"

"Happy…". She interrupted, her voice barely a rasp, and his voice cut off before suddenly he was twisting around in his seat.

"Kid?"

"Happy, something...somethings wrong…". She sobbed, aware of the tears but unable to stop them as she forced the door open, dropping to her knees and vomiting, barely able to hold herself up with a hand pressed to the concrete. The fluids she brought up burned her throat, and when she opened her eyes, there was frothy red mixed in with the remains of her lunch.

An arm around her shoulders kept her from crashing face-first into the puddle, and her knees stung from where they'd hit the concrete. The pain in her stomach hadn't stopped...if anything it was worse, and she felt herself shaking, tears dripping down her cheeks as she sobbed, screaming when the pain twisted her stomach in waves. "Boss!" Happy cried as she cried, and the footsteps that raced toward them ended abruptly as Mr. Stark came into her field of vision, his hands on her cheek.

"Penny? Kid? Talk to me, Penny!"

"Hurts...Mr. Staaa…".

And then she was thrashing.

Penny had read somewhere that people weren't usually conscious during a seizure. That they blacked out and when they woke up, everything was okay and they were better or maybe they were in a hospital...but Penny could feel it. Could feel her arms moving, could hear the grunts and cries coming from her mouth. She could hear Mr. Stark yelling something about help and Happy's retreating footsteps. She could feel her bladder let go and wondered how the hell she could ever face Mr. Stark again when she'd just peed herself in front of him.

He didn't seem to notice, though. Instead, she felt the man ease her head into his lap, restraining her gently as her body seized and shook, his fingers running through her hair. "You're okay, Pen. It's okay. I've got you. I'm here, kid."

"Tony, what…"

"She's been seizing for two minutes." He interrupted, a hand on her hair still smoothing it back, another hand on her shoulder doing its best to keep her from falling off his lap and hitting the floor. "I don't...she threw up...there's blood…"

"Was she hit during the fight?"

"Not that I saw...Karen, sent me her stats."

Penny wasn't sure who he was talking to, but her body seemed slowly to be giving her back control, and she groaned at the pain in her stomach...it was moving. Spreading, up to her chest and head and every part of her. She tried to tell them that it hurt...that everything hurt so much...but she was shaking so hard that her teeth chattered, stomach clenching again. She must have made some kind of noise because the hand stroked her hair, a thumb brushing against her cheek. "It's okay...you're okay, Pen."

"Can you lift her?" Someone asked, and then she was being hoisted into the air. Penny screamed, not able to hold back the cry, and Mr. Stark touched her cheek.

"Okay...okay, honey. I know." The man soothed, squeezing her hand. "Helen?"

And then she was moving. It was getting harder to move...harder to breathe. She opened her mouth, air rasping through her throat as she fought for it. "Damn it...we have to intimate now. Stark, move!"

The tube scraped her throat as it was inserted, and then there was air being forced into her lungs in rhythmic pulses. "Don't fight it, kid. Just let it give you air, okay? You're okay." Mr. Stark reassured her, his hand gripping hers. She wanted to ask what was going on...wanted to know what was happening, but between the pain and the air being forced down her throat, there was no way she could speak. So she squeezed his hand, doing her best not to hurt him.

"I'm right here, kid. I'm not leaving." He promised, a thumb rubbing over her knuckles. "Helen is going to fix you up. Promise. I have the best doctors, remember? It comes with being filthy rich." Normally she would have smiled at that, but a stab of pain in her stomach made her throw her head back, screaming around the tube in her throat. And then something was poking her inner elbow, and cool relief started to spread. "There you go. That should help. Helen?"

There was more taking...more whispering and some shouting and Penny couldn't focus. Couldn't listen. Mr. Stark didn't let go of her hand...not even as the cool relief spread throughout her arms. She couldn't move...couldn't squeeze his hand anymore, but slowly, that stopped bothering her, and she gave in, relaxing in the bed. Soon, she was drifting. Leaving...her mind seemed to leave her body and she was...gone. Resting. The pain wasn't so bad, blackness all around her. She was warm and Mr. Stark was around. So she was safe.

Penny didn't know she was out. It must have been a while...had to have been. At some point, she was being moved, a bed rolling down a hallway. And she slept. Rested. Drifted.

And then she was awake, gritty eyelids peeling open, blinking in the low light coming from a lamp a few feet away. Turning her head was practically impossible and she groaned, fingers twitching as she realized that her hand was still being held. "Take it easy, kid." A voice instructed gently. Mr. Stark. Mr. Stark was there with her. He was still with her. She was in bed, she realized, dressed in what felt like a hospital gown, a tube running under her nose that tickled when she moved.

"Mr…"

"Yep. Mister. That's me." The thumb rubbed over her knuckles. "I'm still here. You with me?"

"Mhm."

"Color me convinced." He teased, chuckling a little. But the sound wasn't amused. It was tight. Afraid. Mr. Stark was sitting right beside her, lips pressed together in a mirthless smile. "Hey, kid."

"Mr...Stark?" She asked, narrowing her eyes at him and shifting a little, glad that the movement didn't hurt.

"Yeah, Pen. It's me." He told her, voice heavy with concern, the smile dropping. "How are you feeling?"

"I...I don't know." She admitted, blinking a few times. He slipped an arm under her shoulders, then a straw was placed between her lips.

"Take a drink, kiddo." She did, the cool water heaven on her scratchy throat. She coughed a couple of times, flinching when that just aggravated her throat, and he held her up, arm tight around her shoulders. "Easy, honey. You're okay."

"What...happened?" She gasped out, bringing a hand up to her throat and flinching when that hurt.

"A special neurotoxin. Made just for enhanced individuals." He told her softly, easing her back down onto the bed. As soon as her head hit the pillow she sunk into it, eyes threatening to shut. Usually, Mr. Stark would have made some kind of joke...asked if she was going to fall asleep on him. Instead, he squeezed her hand. "It was coating the knife that cut you."

Penny blinked, frowning a little. She didn't quite understand. Knife? For a moment, her mind went blank. Then it came to her. A knife. A fight...a...blur. "Do you remember?" She shook her head.

"Not really." For a moment, he seemed like he might be worried. Then his face went back to calm and he smiled.

"That's okay." Mr. Stark reassured her, pushing some of her hair back behind her ear. "Helen said that you might have some trouble remembering everything."

"What happened?" She asked again, and this time, he nodding, seeming to steel himself.

"You were infected with a neurotoxin. Specially designed." He told her again. "Happy drove us home. When we parked, you started vomiting blood and you...you seized for four minutes. That was three days ago." She swallowed hard at that, eyebrows lifting. "You've had six seizures since. Helen was finally able to get an antidote into your system that worked."

Six seizures. She flinched at that, shaking her head. She didn't remember...well, she sort of remembered the first one. "I...I can't remember."

"That's okay. Nothing important happened." He assured her with another smile, patting her on the arm. "You didn't miss anything. The important thing is that you're on the mend, and Helen promised that you'll be back to 100% in a few days. You're on bed rest until she says otherwise."

Penny nodded, eyes fluttering shut, and she felt him place a hand on her cheek. "Hey, kiddo?" She opened her eyes again, struggling to stay awake. "That pain medicine is some pretty serious stuff. I don't blame you for bailing out on me. Just, uh...you need anything, Pen?"

"No...I'm good." She slurred, wiping a clumsy hand over her face, and she heard him chuckle.

"Alright, honey. You get some sleep. I'll be here when you wake up, as will May who promised to kill me if I didn't tell her the minute you woke up."

"What?" He snorted.

"Sleep, Pen. We'll talk when you wake up."

"Mkay...thanks, Mr. Stark." And, sure that, whatever was happening, she'd be safe with him there, she let herself slip back into sleep.

_**Thank you for reading! **_


	11. Homeless

AU Homeless

"Don't you dare tell him." The words were said with a sob, tears dripping down May's cheeks as she dropped onto the sofa that they would have to leave behind. "Don't…". Her words caught and he sat down beside her, wrapping an arm around her shoulders and fighting his own tears. Peter and his aunt sat on her bed, her face hidden in his chest. "Please...we...we'll be fine. Just…"

"I won't." Peter promised, knowing exactly who she was talking about. Knowing that she was ashamed and devastated and afraid and that he had to take care of her. Uncle Ben was gone. Had been gone for two years now. And yeah, he had Mr. Stark too. The man had had him over a few times since the whole Homecoming fiasco a few months ago, mostly for suit repairs and the occasional lecture about being careful. And Peter appreciated it. Really. No, the man hadn't exactly been very 'hands-on' about the whole mentorship thing, but he had seen the man a few times. Gotten a few phone calls. Mr. Stark had always been nice...but Peter had to take care of his aunt. It was up to him.

And he'd failed.

Thankfully it was the first week of summer. He wouldn't have to worry about the school noticing anything...wouldn't have to worry about anyone asking any questions. His brain was already humming...already working toward a plan. Maybe he could shower at Ned's. Or sleep there if his mom didn't notice. He was sure that May could find s friend to stay with...and there was always the shelter. Either way, he had to come up with a plan. Had to figure out how to fix this. No matter what May said.

It had been coming for weeks. Overdue rent notices and bills with large red stamps that she tried to hide from Peter. He had never asked her anything about them...he knew that she didn't want to talk about it. So he'd kept quiet. Averted his eyes, like he was ashamed. And he was. Not of May, of course...of himself. Of the situation. He could have gotten a part time job. Never mind the fact that May had forbidden it, especially after finding out about Spiderman.

And then the eviction notice.

"I won't tell him. I promise." He whispered, dropping his chin on her hair, jaw tight, eyes hot. He wouldn't. Probably wouldn't have the chance anyway.

May sold what she could. Pawned her jewelry and Peter tried to give her his computer, but she wouldn't hear of it. "You need that for school." She told him, touching his cheek, eyes full of tears as the two stood together in the middle of the now-empty living room. Peter spent that last week in their apartment living in fear that someone would stop by and see it...that someone would find out. Ned was on vacation with his parents for the first two weeks of summer, so he didn't have to worry about that.

Still, despite the fact that Mr. Stark had been to his apartment exactly one time, and only for a few minutes to recruit him, he was terrified that the man would stop by. That he would show up at their front door, knocking and then looking around their empty living room and Peter would have to think of some excuse for why they didn't have a sofa or a TV or...or anything anymore. All that was left were their beds and whatever food was in their fridge. That was it. And at night, as Peter slept in his empty room, clothes already stored in May's car or his backpack, he had nightmares about it. Terrible dreams. Dreams where Mr. Stark stood in their living room and looked at him in absolute disbelief.

"How could you let this happen?"

Other nights it was Ben. Different father figure. Sam question.

"How could you let this happen?"

And then he would wake up in a cold sweat, tears in his eyes as he looked around at the empty room that would only be his bedroom for a few more days.

May didn't cry when she left the keys in the apartment that was no longer theirs. She didn't cry when she pulled up the handle of her suitcase, rolling it behind her, Peter at her heels as the two of them made their way to the elevator. Then down to the ground floor. She didn't cry until they had placed their luggage in the trunk, the two of them sitting in the front seat, parked on the street...and then she put her head in her hands, sobbing, forehead resting on the steering wheel of their new home.

Peter reached out, touching her shoulder, and she turned in her seat, arms out, yanking him towards her. "I'm sorry." He whispered, gripping the back of her shirt, sobbing into her shoulder and praying that no one saw them. That no one knew. "I'm so sorry."

"This wasn't your fault, baby. None of it was your fault. We're going to be okay. I promise. I promise, baby. We'll be okay."

They spent the first night in the car, parked in a local park, Peter in the back seat and May in the front. He heard her sobbing as he curled up in the back, face hidden in the pillow he'd brought from his bed and crying as quietly as he could. He hadn't gone out as Spiderman since finding out that they were being evicted, and he was afraid that Mr. Stark would notice. Afraid that the man would call and ask him why he was patrolling. Why he wasn't taking advantage of his summer vacation.

After three nights, they woke to a cop knocking on their window, shining a flashlight into their car at 3 in the morning, suggesting that they find another parking spot...May cried again as she drove around the park, finally pulling over as she sobbed into the steering wheel.

That was the first time he thought about calling Mr. Stark.

The man hadn't been much more present in his life since Homecoming. But Peter was certain that he would help. That he would take one look at May, sobbing in her car, and he would probably buy them an apartment complex. Give May a job at Sark industries doing something easy like sitting at a desk and pay her $100/hr and he'd take one look at Peter and order him a pizza and offer to let him stay. He'd offered once before, one day when Peter had showed up for suit repairs and had tried to hide a stab wound. Mr. Stark had taken one look at the suit and the rip in the torso and had turned to Peter, arms crossed. "Take your shirt off." He had ordered, and Peter had nearly spit out the Yoohoo Mr. Stark had given him.

"What?"

"Shirt. Off."

It had taken Peter a moment of looking from the suit to Mr. Stark to get it. "Oh...it's fine, Mr. Stark. Really...it barely nicked me…"

"Shirt. Off." He had ordered again, and Peter had sighed, taking another long drink of his chocolate drink, then peeling off his shirt, letting his man see the still-fresh wound on his torso. "Shit, kid." He had grabbed a first aid kit, gesturing for Peter to sit down in a chair, and he had, letting Mr. Stark disinfect the already-healing stab wound. "You look beat, kid. You want to stay?"

"Huh?" Peter had asked, head jerking up.

"You want to stay? At the tower? For the night. I've got plenty of spare rooms." He'd said, nonchalant. And Peter had been tempted. But he'd still remembered how it had felt before...how Happy had dodged his calls. How Mr. Stark hadn't been there. And he'd shaken his head, smiling and backing away a little. Trying not to let the man know that he was afraid...afraid of getting too close and afraid of letting him in and...just afraid.

"Thanks, Mr. Stark, but May's expecting me home tonight."

The man had given him a long look, lips pressed into a forced smile, and then he'd nodded. "Sure thing, Pete. Let me know if that starts to get infected." And that had been that.

It was close to impossible to get a spot in any of the local shelters. Especially with two of them. So Peter insisted that May take the spot, telling her that he was staying with Ned. A few times, he did. Ned didn't ask any questions when Peter asked to stay over...didn't ask questions about the fact that Peter ate more than usual or the fact that he always took a shower. Peter knew that Ned suspected. He knew that he was suspicious. But Ned never asked any questions and he was grateful. He even offered to let Peter stay over more, which made it easier for May to get spots at the shelter.

May saved every penny she could from her new job at the nursing home, and her job at McDonalds meant they got lots of free food over the weekend. On nights when they stayed at the shelter, he usually got breakfast. Finally, three weeks after they lost their house, he backed up his computer on a hard drive that Ned lent him, then sold it.

May cried again when she found out, and Peter wondered if he would ever do anything right.

Tony contacted him exactly a month after they lost their apartment.

Peter was at Mr. Delmar's shop, spending an inordinate amount of time choosing between the apple, which would maybe keep him full longer, and the little package of donuts, which would be delicious, when his cell vibrated in his pocket.

He'd been thinking about stealing the donuts, and the thought made his heart stutter. But he hadn't eaten in hours, and he couldn't bear to tell May how much his stomach hurt. How his stomach twisted with stomach pangs at night when he tried to sleep. How he hadn't gone out as Spiderman in weeks because he wasn't sure he was strong enough to swing for hours without passing out anymore. Most days he spent at the library, reading or using their computers, or napping in alleys when he got too tired. He couldn't sleep in the library and he couldn't sleep in the park, but sometimes he could find a quiet place in an alley behind a dumpster where no one could bother him.

Ducking back behind the shelf full of chips and travel sized shampoos and soaps, he held the phone to his ear, clearing his throat before answering. "Hello?" He answered, hesitant.

"Hey, Pete. How's it going?"

"Um...fine, Mr. Stark. How...how are you?"

"I'm fine, kid. I was wondering if you wanted to stop by the tower today. I had some updates I wanted to install...think you could swing over?"

"Yeah...um...yeah, I can do that. Right...right now?" He clarified, mind racing.

Maybe Mr. Stark would have some food for him. Maybe he could lay down, just for a second. Maybe the man would let him stay over.

Eyes hot, he shook the thought off. Mr. Stark wasn't responsible for him. It wasn't his job to do that...but maybe...maybe he would offer him a real internship! Or maybe he could join the Avengers! Did that pay well? Then he could take care of May.

"Pete? You with me, bud?"

"Oh...yeah...I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. Um, what did you, uh...what did you say?"

"I said you can come on over. You okay?"

"Yeah. I'm fine. I'm on my way."

Peter changed into the suit, stuffing his clothes into his backpack, which was getting rattier and rattier, and, sniffing under the suit to make sure he smelled okay, then spraying himself with body spray, he headed to the tower. It was harder than he remembered...his arms ached and his head swam. He could hear the people below calling out to him...shouts of 'Spiderman' and 'he's back' and other things he just barely heard...he couldn't help them. He couldn't help May and he couldn't help himself because fifteen year olds couldn't get jobs without their guardian's permission. But he'd be sixteen in August...then he could get a job. He could help. Unless, by some miracle, Mr. Stark was able to help him without finding out. But Peter couldn't tell him. He'd promised May. Promised her. So he wouldn't tell Mr. Stark. He'd just...hope the man would offer him an internship or something. A paid one.

Peter shook his head at himself as he landed on the side of the building. It was a stupid thought. Something a little kid would think. He had to be better than that now. For May. Crawling up to the window that would lead him to the living room, he ignored the fact that his hands were shaking, tapping his fingers against the glass until the window flew open.

"The hell, kid." Mr. Stark asked, rolling his eyes as Peter landed in the room, pulling his mask off and grinning a little. "When I invited you over, I thought you might use the front door." The man didn't look upset, despite his words. More teasing, and Peter smiled, feeling relief fill him. Mr. Stark wasn't angry. He hadn't let down yet another person...first Ben, then May...Mr. Stark wasn't angry.

He was so tired...why didn't his thoughts make sense anymore? Because he was tired? Hungry? Something else?"

"I figured the window would be faster." Peter joked, words dying in his throat when he saw Mr. Stark's expression. Worry. Mr. Stark was staring at him with what had to be worry. "Sir?"

"You okay, Pete?"

"What? Yeah...yeah, I'm good." He nodded, taking a half step away from the man who seemed to be regarding him a little too carefully. Too closely.

"You sure?" Peter nodded once more, smiling as cheerfully as he could manage, and Mr. Stark let it go. At least, he seemed to. Peter knew that he didn't look great. He'd seen it in the mirror at Ned's a few days ago. He had sunken cheekbones and was too pale, and bluish bags darkened under his eyes, becoming more prominent every day. His friend had been looking at him strangely that evening. So despite the fact that he'd been invited to stay another night, Peter had turned him down, telling May to take a spot at the shelter and telling her that he'd be at Ned's again.

Instead, he'd slept in an alley, curled up in an old hoodie, head resting against a wall, his backpack between him and a dumpster. The smell had been awful, and he'd woken up every few hours from hunger or strange noises. His head ached and his stomach cramped and it was in that dazed, tired, hungry state that he'd found himself in Mr. Delmar's shop. And now he was in the tower. And Mr. Stark was staring at him. "Yeah." He assured the man. "Yeah, I'm fine."

To Peter's horror, the man started to reach out a hand to his forehead, and Peter flinched back, embarassed as soon as he did it. Mr. Stark froze, looking more concerned than before. "I was just going to make sure you didn't have a fever, kid." He told him, dropping his voice. Peter was glad that they were alone. Glad that no one was around to see how dumbe he was being. Of course that was all he was doing. What else would he be doing?

Over the last few weeks, he'd gone to sleep alone in alleys, waking to strangers hands reaching for him. For his backpack. For his face. Every time, he'd woken and gotten away before they'd been able to touch him. But every time he woke, he felt heavier and heavier. More and more exhausted. He worried that one day he wouldn't be fast enough.

Peter forced himself to stay still when Mr. Stark placed the back of his hand against his forehead. It was strange. An odd sensation. No one had touched him in a long time. Even May...she'd been so busy. So harried and exhausted...it felt like she didn't even see him anymore, and he felt his eyes heat up. Dropping his eyes, he swallowed. "I'm fine." He whispered as he fought the urge to press his head into the man's hand.

"You feel kind of warm, Pete." The man muttered, dropping his hand and staring worriedly at him. Unfortunately, his head was starting to swim, and he felt his knees start to buckle. "Peter!" The man gripped his upper arm, keeping him upright. "Hey...talk to me, kid. What's wrong?"

"Sorry, just, uh...didn't sleep very well." It wasn't a lie, and he forced a smile, shrugging. "Kind of tired."

"Here." The man led him over to the sofa, urging him to sit down. "You want something to drink? We can work on your suit later. Or I can give you a ride home." The panic came so quickly that Peter couldn't hide it for a second, and he dropped his eyes, swallowing hard. "What's going on, kid?"

"Nothing. We can go ahead and work on those suit upgrades."

"Why don't you take it easy for a second, Pete?" Mr. Stark disappeared for a second, then returned with a soda in hand. He handed it to Peter who took it, then sat down beside him.

"I'm fine, Mr. Stark, really."

"Okay." The man nodded, not moving from where he'd sat beside him. "There was actually something I'd meant to ask you. I was looking at the logs last night and I saw that you hadn't been out as Spiderman for a couple of weeks." Peter swallowed hard, dropping his eyes once more, thoughts racing as he tried to think of an excuse. Any excuse.

"I...I was sick for a few days and...uh...May needed help around the house." It sounded lame even to his own ears. Stupid. Like an obvious lie, and from the way Mr. Stark was watching him, he wasn't fooling him. Not even a little.

"How's Aunt Hottie doing anyway?"

"I...she, uh...she's fine. Good." Peter nodded, making his voice cheerful. "Busy with work."

"Yeah? I think Happy was thinking about asking her to dinner." The look of shock and horror on Peter's face was so sudden that he couldn't stop it, and Mr. Stark laughed out loud. "What? Happy isn't so bad."

"No...he's...fine…" Peter muttered, shrugging. "Um...it's just…" Mr. Stark chuckled, patting him on the shoulder.

"Don't worry, Pete, I don't think he's planning to propose any time soon. But he mentioned that she hadn't been answering her phone." Peter swallowed hard.

"Oh...I think...I think she's just been busy."

"Yeah? Think she could take a night off? Pep's been asking me to have you both over for dinner sometimes."

"She's...she's been really busy with work."

Mr. Stark was watching him. Frowning. Looking worried. "Yeah? Doesn't she work at the hospital?"

"I...not anymore. She works at a nursing home now." Mr. Stark didn't answer, but he was still staring.

"Pete?" He asked after a moment, voice lower than before. "What's going on, kid?"

His eyes were getting hot and he dropped them, blinking hard before he cry. "Nothing." He whispered, hating the way his voice cracked.

"Peter." It wasn't a question...the man's hand touched his shoulder and Peter couldn't remember the man ever being so nice...so gentle. "Come on, kid. Talk to me. What's going on?"

"Nothing." He insisted again.

"So I can drive you back to your apartment and ask May and she'd agree that everything is fine?" Peter nodded, refusing to meet his eyes. Refusing to let the tears fall because it was his fault. He didn't have any right to cry over this. He hadn't been able to help her. He'd failed Ben and he hadn't filled the man's shoes and taken care of her. "Okay. Let's go." Mr. Stark jumped to his feet, holding out a hand to Peter who ignored it. Peter didn't move. "Come on, kid. We can go back to your place. Wait for Aunt Hottie. Ask her how she's doing." He shook his head, lips pressed together. "Come on, Peter."

"I can't." He snapped, glaring down at the floor. Mr. Stark stayed where he was, arms crossing.

"Why not, Peter? What's going on." He asked, voice soft and urgent. He couldn't tell him. Couldn't say the words. May had begged...he couldn't break that promise. Not after he'd failed her so many times. "Pete…"

"I just can't, okay." He bit out, glaring at the floor.

"Why can't we go back to your apartment?" He sniffed, placing a hand tightly over his mouth, shaking his head. "Peter…" There was a hesitation, and then he leaned in. "What happened to your apartment, kid?" Peter shook his head. Felt his stomach turn. "Did you get evicted?" He couldn't answer. Felt too humiliated and sad and tired to answer. "Where are you staying, Pete?"

There was a long, terrible silence, and Peter could practically feel the man working it out. Could hear the cogs turning.

Then man's jaw dropped. "Oh my god, Peter! What were you thinking? How could you not…" He stared, and Peter couldn't take it.

"You don't get to fucking yell at me about this!" Peter exploded, uncomfortably aware of how the tears were falling down his cheeks as he jumped to his feet, ignoring the headrush. "You've never had to worry about money. It's in your stupid tag line! Genius _billionaire_ playboy philanthropist." The man flinched as if he'd been struck, and Peter wanted to take it back. He wanted to apologize.

But he was also aware of May...how she would feel about this. Of his own exhaustion and sadness and embarrassment and the fact that the man had figured it out and there was nothing he could do about it. Turning away, he yanked his mask back on, then threw himself out of the open window.

Peter swung away from the tower, not paying much attention to where he was going or how he got there. Instead, he just swung, moving forward until he found himself on a rooftop, dropping to the flat surface of the roof and sitting. Well...practically collapsing. He was so tired. He placed his head in his hands, sighing softly as he took deep breaths and tried to plan out the rest of his day. Maybe he could ask Ned if he could stay over. He needed to eat something soon. Needed to find a place to crash that wasn't an alley and needed to turn sixteen so he could find a job and...he needed to fix this. Needed to somehow make enough money so that he could help May.

"You're right." The quiet voice didn't startled him. He'd heard the repulsors. Had heard the opening of the suit and the footsteps. Curling up into an even tighter ball, he stared out at the city, keeping the mask over his face to hide his red eyes. Slowly, the man approached. Peter didn't look up. "I had no right to yell at you. I know...I mean...I don't. I don't know. I couldn't."

The man sat down beside him on the roof, a hesitant hand landing on his back. He didn't flinch away this time. Didn't even breathe, and the hand squeezed his shoulder. "I'm sorry, Pete."

"Okay," He whispered, anger with the man evaporating, replaced instead with a bone-deep weariness and a sadness so complete that tears fell once more. And he was embarrassed because this was the guy who'd said he wanted to be his mentor and who had all but ignored him for so long and now he was finally there...finally close enough to prove himself...and he couldn't stop crying.

"It's not okay." Mr. Stark scooted closer, the arm wrapping around his shoulders, and Peter felt like he might lose it. Like his whole body would just shatter. But the man pulled him against his side and Peter felt his head drop, something heavy suddenly being shared. "Can you tell me what happened?"

"Her hours got cut." He whispered, as if he didn't speak too loudly, he wouldn't be breaking his promise to her. What did it matter? Mr. Stark would find everything out anyway. "And the bills were overdue and they cut the electricity." Peter swallowed hard, flinching when it scraped at his throat, sore from crying. "Then...we just...she lost her job and couldn't find another one that paid enough…"

"Does she have a job now?"

"She works at a nursing home 30 hours a week...and on the weekends she works at McDonald's. She's trying to save up for a security deposit but…". He trailed off, wondering what the man thought of them. Did he think they were irresponsible with their money? He thought of the new shoes she'd gotten him for Christmas and the computer they'd saved up for with a wave of shame. At least he'd managed to sell the computer.

"Where do you stay?"

"The shelter when there are open beds. Her car." He shrugged, as if it was no big deal. As if he wasn't ashamed. He couldn't say the alleys of New York. Couldn't tell the man that he'd been sleeping on the streets some nights.

"How long?" Mr. Stark asked, voice gentle and serious but not pitying.

"Since June 5th." He all but whispered, once more, staring at his lap. It was July 20th. The man brought a hand up to the back of his neck, gently slipping his fingers under the mask and pulling it off. Peter was crying, and he tried to hide his face, but Mr. Stark put a hand under his chin, urging him to look at him. "She made me promise not to tell you." Peter murmured, wiping a knuckle uselessly under his eye. It did nothing for the tears that kept falling.

Mr. Stark stared at him for a moment, lips pressed together. Eyes sad. "Alright, Pete. Why don't you come back to the tower and get some rest, huh? You look beat." Peter started to shake his head. To tell the man he was fine. But his whole body felt heavy and immovable, thoughts sluggish, so he just nodded. "When was the last time you ate?" He asked then, sounding a little more concerned.

"Breakfast." Peter told him. It wasn't a lie...he had had a banana for breakfast. The sun was high in the sky, though, and he'd been ignoring hunger pangs for hours.

Mr. Stark did something with his phone, then handed him his mask. "Alright, give me a second." He stepped backwards into the iron man suit, letting it form around him, then gave Peter a hand up. Before he could protest, the man scooped him into his arms as easily as if he were a child.

A smaller child.

Peter yanked his mask back on, then dropped his head against Mr. Stark's shoulder, not caring that the metal was cold on his cheek. The man jumped off the roof, thrusters engaged to slaw their fall, and they landed lightly on the ground only to find a car waiting.

Happy was in the front seat, casting glances back at Peter as the boy leaned his head on Mr. Stark's shoulder. SIlently, he started to drive, and in the back seat, Peter closed his eyes, wondering if he could just sleep for a moment. If he could just close his eyes and rest and let Mr. Stark take care of things. "I've got you, kid. Don't worry."

"It's my fault." He whispered, hoping that Happy didn't hear, but figuring there was nothing he could do even if he did.

"What?" Peter didn't lift his head, taking advantage of the man's comfort. And he knew he shouldn't. Knew that Mr. Stark was busy and important and that he had no right to monopolize his time like this.

But he needed help.

"It's my fault. I couldn't get a job or…"

"Kid, this isn't on you."

"But…"

"Pete, listen to me, kid." The man whispered, squeezing his shoulder. "This was not your fault. I know that. There's no way you could have prevented this."

"I was supposed to take care of her. After Ben…" He choked on his words, turning his face to Mr. Stark's shoulder, and the man rubbed his back.

"I know, buddy. But hey...you are. You're taking care of her by getting help. And that's what I'm here for. I'm going to help. So you just rest, okay? I'm going to take care of this."

And, closing his eyes, Peter knew that he would. So for the first time in weeks, he let himself rest.


	12. Hibernation

**_Thank you so much to everyone who has been reading and reviewing! I hope you enjoy the new chapter!_**

_Trope: Hibernation_

That last few weeks had been hard. Hard on Tony and hard on Pepper...and hard on Penny. Tony knew that it had been hard on Penny too. Harder than it had been on him. And he was doing his best. Never mind that it rarely felt like enough...like he was letting everyone down. Himself. Pepper. The kid. Any expectations that Penny's aunt might have had of him...just...everone.

Looking up from the circuit board he'd been messing with, taking a break from the nanotech that continued to elude him, he groaned and stretched, reaching his arms up and feeling his back crack. He'd been at it all day, hoping to either finish the new Stark Phone to get it on the market by the following month or finally break into nanotech. Nanotech was finicky though, and he needed to get all of the bugs out before he tried to test it in his armor. It was a welcome distraction from his new domestic problems, but he knew that he couldn't hide in his lab forever.

It hadn't been his fault. That's what Pepper had insisted more than once, well aware of his tendency to blame himself for everything. And logically, he knew that none of it...okay, almost none of it had been his fault. Not really. He never could have predicted what would happen. Never could have guessed that he would become the ill-equipped guardian of the spider-kid, and suddenly be expected to do things like sign report cards and keep up with when she had decathlon meets and make sure that there was food in the fridge (okay, so Pepper did that.)

"Sir, Pepper asked for me to remind you that it is almost time for dinner, and asks that you come upstairs."

Family dinners had also been Pepper's idea. Three days after Tony had picked her up from the apartment only five blocks from her old one, thanking the foster parents who had been looking after her as best as they could (as far as he knew), Pepper had called him out of his lab, and he'd come upstairs to find both his girlfriend as his ward at the dining room table, Pepper looking forcibly pleasant, and Penny downcast and vacant, and the three of them had sat down to dinner together every night since.

He'd told Penny that she could patrol. That she could still do things after school, but she came home straight after school or decathlon practice every day, her head down, lips drawn down into a frown, looking small and sad, and he had no idea how to fix it. No idea how to talk to the girl. Not when the last real conversation they'd had before her aunt's death had taken place after the whole ferry fiasco and had ended in him shouting at her and taking her suit...and her crying.

Tony had made a fifteen-year-old girl cry. Then he'd avoided reaching out to her for several weeks. And then he'd become her guardian.

"Tony?" He glanced up at Pepper as he stepped out of the elevator, wiping a hand over his face. It was almost six, so he knew the kid was home. He checked the living room as he passed, not seeing Penny on the sofa, where he sometimes found her watching tv or working on homework, or at the kitchen table. That wasn't surprising, though. Penny spent most of her time in her room.

"Hey. Where's the kid?" He asked, rubbing a hand over his face. Some days, it seemed like she might be okay. Or something verging on okay. She would smile at Pepper and thank her for making her lunch, or thank him for handing her twenty dollars to buy lunch at school that he was sure she wasn't spending, considering how pale and small she seemed. She'd lost weight, and her cheekbones were sharp and prominent. He was feeding her! Gave her all the money she could have needed and offered her more.

Pepper kept telling him that eventually, he was going to have to just talk to her. He thought that maybe he could keep feeding her and inviting her down to the lab and then it would be okay.

(It wouldn't. It wouldn't be okay. How could it ever be okay? He wasn't prepared for this. Wasn't trained for it. This was a kid and she was scared and grieving and confused and what could he ever offer her? He'd dealt with the death of his own parents by drinking himself to near comas every weekend. And so he'd done what he did best: disappeared into his lab and hoped that if he closed his eyes for long enough, the problem would go away.)

"In her room. Her teacher called." Pepper told him, glancing up from where she'd been chopping carrots, lips pressed together in worry.

"Why?" Tony wondered, pulling out his own phone to check his missed messages. He and Pepper were both listed as her emergency contacts, but he had listed himself first, figuring that he would be more likely to answer. Pepper spent her days in meetings, running his company, but lately, she'd made sure to be home by five or five-thirty every day. Pepper had been trying harder than he had, a traitorous voice in his brain whispered. She'd made an effort to be there for the girl. But every time he saw the kid, he saw her red eyes and wobbling lip as he'd snapped at her...as he'd told her that he was taking the suit back. He saw her lying in the medbay, skin burnt, eyes staring blankly at the ceiling, as one of his doctors informed him that she was covered in burns and had broken ribs and was malnourished...that this kid that he'd dragged halfway around the world was hurt because he'd taken away her suit and because she'd still been trying to help him.

He saw her sobbing into her pillow in the medbay, back to him, face in her hands, after he'd asked her what had happened to May.

"Her teacher, Mr. Harrington, said that she was having trouble concentrating and was falling asleep in class. He asked if everything was okay at home." Pepper told him, bringing him back to the present.

Home. Were things okay at home? Of course, everything wasn't okay at home, Tony wanted to say because this wasn't her home! Home had been an apartment in Queens and her aunt all he could offer her was a place in his tower, a guest room converted into a bedroom for a teenager with white walls and no kind of decoration other than a succulent in her window that Penny cared for better than he'd ever cared for anything. All he could offer was himself and all the money she could ever need. But it was better than the last place she'd been put.

Tony hadn't found out until later...until two months after he'd taken her suit. Until the middle of October when she'd saved his plane dressed in what looked like ripped, burnt pajamas but had actually been her old suit. The one she'd made herself. He'd found her on top of the roller coaster supports, leaning against a wooden beam, blood dripping from her cheek as she stared at him with bleary eyes and no apparent recognition. "Penny?" He'd asked, lowering his voice and reaching out for her. She hadn't flinched. Hadn't blinked or seemed to know who he was, but when he'd touched her cheek with his fingertips, she had finally reacted.

"They'll...they'll be mad. I'm late…" She'd whispered. And then her eyes had rolled back in her head and she would have fallen if he hadn't lunged to catch her.

He'd taken her straight to the medbay, only to learn from Friday that May was gone. That the woman had been on her way home and that the other driver had been distracted and that she'd died on impact. And that Penny had been put into foster care.

She hadn't called him. At first, he'd been upset about that. Incredulous. But then it had hit him. Why would she have called him? He'd taken her suit. He'd told her that she was done and that he was done and why would she have ever thought that he'd take care of her? It wasn't like he'd attempted to have any kind of relationship with Penny, even when she had been using the suit. Happy had ignored most of her calls, but he couldn't blame the man. He'd made Happy the middleman, adding Penny to his list of stuff to keep track of and had told himself that it would be better that way. That Penny was better off without him.

And now he was all she had.

Christmas was quickly approaching, and although he had a whole Amazon list of things that he was getting her, along with the new custom made Stark phone he was still working on, he knew that he could never give her what she really wanted...her aunt. Her home.

He had noticed that Penny had been dragging lately, and wondered if it had anything to do with the plummeting temperatures...or if it was something else. As far as he knew, she wasn't having nightmares. At least, Friday hadn't said anything. He'd given her her suit back the day he'd carried her to the medbay...the day after he'd had Friday call every doctor he trusted to take a look at her only to find out that she was malnourished and suffering from exhaustion and dehydration and also that her entire life had fallen apart in the months since he'd last seen her. But she hadn't used her suit even once. It sat folded at the bottom of one of her dresser drawers...she didn't even take it to school.

He knew this because he checked the tracker every day.

"Did you talk to her?" He asked, grabbing a bottle of water from the fridge and taking a swig. It wasn't Pepper's job to talk to her, his brain informed him. Sure, Pepper had been great. She'd all but moved in, making sure to be there to make the girl dinner and offer to talk and she'd even taken her shopping for new clothes and school supplies. Pepper had gone above and beyond. But Tony was her guardian! Why couldn't he just talk to the kid?

Because Stark men were shit at talking to their kids. Because his father had been useless. An abusive, cruel, brilliant, fuck, and what if he was the same?

"She went straight to her room when she got home." Tony knew that it was hard on Pepper. She cared a lot about Penny, that much was obvious. But the girl had been distant and quiet and walked around their home like a zombie. And Tony hadn't talked to her, not really. Hadn't asked her about the foster home that he'd gotten her out of only after hiring six lawyers and paying off at least one judge. Maybe two. It had been a long night. Hadn't asked her about school or how she was feeling. He just...he had no idea how. Before everything, she'd been easy to talk to. Had hung on his every word and listened to his every order. But now...now that there were real emotions and real trauma...he was at a loss.

Rhodey had suggested a list of books on parenting and traumatized children. And a therapist for the girl. Pepper had seconded that, and even Vision had emailed him a list of books. But he'd only downloaded them to his tablet...hadn't been able to bring himself to read them. Because he wasn't her father. Could never be her father. Hell, there was no way she wanted him to be her father. So what was he? What possible role could he play in her life?

"I'll go check on her," He told Pepper, kissing her cheek as he passed, and Pepper turned, catching his hand.

"It's going to be okay." She told him, voice dropping to a murmur. He shook his head. There was no scenario that he could see where everything turned out okay. "You just need to get her to talk."

"Why would she want to talk to me?" He asked, letting the words he'd been feeling for so long escape. "I took her suit, Pep. I shouted at her and made her cry, then sent her home, and then her aunt died, and I didn't even know…"

"How could you have…" She started, but he went on.

"Then...now...I can't even talk to her. I don't know how! I don't know how to make this okay!"

"She's hurting," Pepper whispered, cupping his face in her hands. "She's in a new place with strange people...and she's scared. But she's going to be okay. We'll make sure she's okay."

Tony let himself believe that. Let himself nod and smile and kiss her once more. Then he headed toward the girl's room, rapping his knuckles against her bedroom door, not wanting to intrude, but also feeling tendrils of worry snake through his chest. Her teacher had called. Asked if everything was okay. And she was falling asleep in class. Why was she so tired? Was she getting sick? And if she was, what was he supposed to do? He couldn't exactly take her to a doctor. Could Spider kids even get sick? He could take her to the medbay and have the doctors there look at her.

There was no answer, so he tried the knob. The door was unlocked, so he pushed it open, stepping inside of the dim room, then paused when he caught sight of her curled up in her bed on her side, her back to him. Tony approached slowly, frowning as he got closer. Was she...shaking? Two quilts were draped over her...guest room quilts. Quilts you might find in a hotel. "Kiddo?" He asked, moving closer and putting a hand on her shoulder. She didn't respond. "Pen?" The girl groaned then, the sound barely making it out of her mouth as she shivered under his hand. "Penny? Kid? You ready for dinner?" When she looked up at him in the dim light, her eyes were unfocused and bleary, and he pressed the back of his hand to her forehead, nearly pulling back in surprise when he realized that her skin was cold. Really cold. "Geez, kid." He murmured, not failing to notice how gentle his voice had become. "You're freezing."

So...no fever.

Tony stood, moving over to her closet and pulling the door open, ignoring the pile of clothes on the floor and grabbing another quilt from the top shelf, then draping it over her. He sat beside her on the bed then, chest tightening when she only blinked at him, shivering and pulling the blanket more tightly around herself. "Friday? What's going on?" He asked, putting his hand back on her forehead and biting his lip when she leaned into the contact.

"It appears as though Penny's temperature is 96.1 and appears to be dropping."

"Okay…" He murmured, shifting so that he was a little closer and putting an arm around her, the movement as natural as anything despite the fact that he'd barely been able to speak to her for weeks. "Why?" He asked, glancing down when she moved even closer, shivering as she sought out his warmth without seeming to notice her own actions.

Since Penny had moved in with them, the two of them had had very little actual contact. He'd patted her own the back once or twice...sometimes touching her shoulder when she was reading or watching TV. Pepper had hugged the girl once after their first family dinner. Otherwise, she'd avoided them both, spending more of her time either at school or in her room with the succulent. "I am unable to determine the reason for the drop in her body temperature." He pressed his lips together, shaking his head. That didn't make any sense.

"Penny?" She hummed, eyes fluttering as the girl looked up at him. "You with me, kid?" Penny nodded. "How are you feeling?"

"M'tired," She muttered.

"Okay. Try to stay awake. I'm going to get you something to drink, and then I'll call a doctor." She didn't argue. Didn't even respond, and he brushed her hair back. "Friday, monitor her temperature."

"Might I suggest you take her blood sugar?" The AI asked, and he nodded.

"Right. Get someone from the medbay up here...someone that already knows about her mutation. Call Helen...ask if she can come over." He ordered as he walked. Pepper looked up from where she was standing at the stove, frowning as he approached.

"Is she okay?"

"I think she's sick. Her temp is dropping and she says she's tired." He told her, speaking quickly as he yanked the fridge open and pulled out a bottle of soda. "Friday, tell the doctor to bring a blood sugar testing kit." Pepper leaned against the counter, frowning and crossing her arms.

"Tony?" She asked, but he hurried past.

"A doctor should be on their way. I'm calling for Helen. I'll be right back." He promised, gripping the soda and hurrying back to Penny's room.

When he stepped back into the room, the girl was still huddled beneath her blankets, her forehead the only part of her body showing. "Pen?" He asked, reaching out to shake her shoulder. "Wake up, kiddo. I've got a doctor on their way...take a drink, huh?"

She didn't respond.

Frowning, he shook her a little harder.

Nothing.

"Penny!" He called, putting the soda on her bedside table and then pulling her up by her shoulders. Her head slumped backward, eyelids not even fluttering. "Kid! Hey, come on Spiderkid. Wake up. Come on, Penny." He murmured, slipping a hand beneath her neck to support her head as he tried to wake her, but there was no response. His chest tightened then, fingers pressed to her neck. There was a heartbeat, but it was slow...slower than it should have been. "Pep?" He called, his voice suddenly weak and afraid. "Friday, get Pepper! What's her heart rate?"

"Pepper is on her way. Penny's heart rate is 58 beats per minutes and dropping."

Tony swore under his breath, glancing up at the door and waiting for Pepper, knowing that there was nothing she could do but also needing her there.

Heart thudding in his ears, he sat down on her bed and pulled her upright, patting her cheek. "Penny. Penny, wake up, kid. You have to...you have to wake up, honey. Please. Please, kid." He begged, opening his mouth and all but gasping for air. It was getting harder to breathe which made no sense...he couldn't stop breathing. Penny needed him! His kid needed him and he hadn't even tried to talk to her and he'd been so afraid to try but now she wasn't waking up.

"Tony?" Pepper called, appearing in Penny's doorway. "What…"

"She won't wake up!" He half-screamed, cupping her face in his hand, holding her upright against his chest.

"Friday? What's wrong with her?" Pepper demanded, hurrying to join them and touching the girl's face, her other hand on his back.

"I am unsure," Friday answered, and sounded it. "She appears to be asleep."

"Yeah, I got that!" Tony snapped, and Pepper sat beside him, rubbing his back.

"Tony, you have to breathe. She's just asleep. You have doctors on their way…"

"She won't wake up." He reminded her, voice lowered a little, breaths coming easier...but he was still terrified.

"I know. But you called for Helen and…" Pepper cut herself off when a doctor tapped on the door. It wasn't Helen, but he had seen her around...Helen had trained her. But he couldn't remember her name.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Help her. Please." He all but demanded, and the woman, dressed in a lab coat, a black bag in hand, gave a sharp not. He was once more grateful that he kept the medbay staffed year-round, mostly with doctors who did research, attempted to develop new medicines, and were on hand for when he needed stitches. Now, Pepper pulled him out of the way, the two of them stepping to the side as the doctor knelt at Penny's side.

"Penny?" The doctor asked, pressing her fingers to Penny's throat and then opening the bag. Pulling a tiny needle and test kit out, she unwrapped the girl from the blankets, meeting no resistance. Pricking Penny's finger, she pressed the test strip to the drop of blood, then nodded at the number, tucking it back into the bag, then pulling out a stethoscope.

"Her airways are clear...she's not having any trouble breathing. Her blood sugar is a bit low...and her temperature is dropping. Has she been feeling sick?"

Tony had no idea. Had no idea if Penny had been sick. Because he'd barely spoken to her.

"I...I don't know. Her teacher called today...said she's been falling asleep in class."

"Okay…how long has she been asleep?"

"Only a few minutes." But he didn't really know that. What if she'd been asleep after she'd gotten home? What if something was seriously wrong with her?

"Alright. I'd like to bring her to the medbay. Would you like me to bring a gurney or can…"

"I'll carry her." He cut in, reaching out for Penny and pulling the girl into his arms. She was dead weight, head flopping backward until Pepper cupped her hand under the back of the girl's head and eased it onto Tony's shoulder.

She was so light.

He got her into the medbay with no issues. The girl didn't stir as he placed her onto a bed, the same one he'd placed her in when she'd been hurt...after she'd saved his plane from the Vulture and gotten herself beat up in the process.

It had exactly as much of her personality as her bedroom, which made his chest hurt. He needed to fix that...needed to fix so many things.

She didn't respond as she was hooked up to monitors, a bag with nutrients hung by her bed, blankets piled over her to attempt to warm her up. "She's not eating enough." The doctor told them, a second doctor joining them and pinching her skin gently. "And she's dehydrated."

Tony nodded, abashed. The girl was dehydrated. Malnourished. He was no better than her last foster home...and he knew! He knew that she had to eat more. Knew that her metabolism was faster and that she'd never ask for extra but that she needed it!

"She hasn't been eating." Pepper cut in softly. "She said she wasn't hungry this morning...I don't know if she had lunch." The first doctor nodded, and the two of them moved like birds, seeming to flit around the girl who was frighteningly still.

The morning after he'd brought her to the medbay the first time, after she had saved his plane and he'd found out that the kid was alone and hurt and living in a foster home, he'd called Pepper, catching her up on the situation as quickly as he could, and she'd responded without hesitation.

"Bring her here." Pepper had told him as he'd stood in his medbay, watching then stick the girl with needles and attach IVs to her arms. Helpless. He'd felt helpless, just like he did now. But her words had surprised him.

"Pep?"

"Bring her here, Tony. Get custody. She can't be in foster care. Not with her enhancements."

"But she...Pep, I haven't even talked to her in weeks and…"

"Tony, she needs you. I'll help you. But...Penny needs you. She needs us."

Now, the two of them stood together, Pepper slipping her hand into his and leaning on his arm as they watched the doctors work.

Helen Cho arrived about two hours later, hair pulled back, dressed in what looked to be a gown. "You're paying me overtime for this." She murmured, no real bite in her voice.

"Were you on a date?" He asked, surprised despite himself. He and Pepper had been sitting in chairs at the girl's side, and both watched her kick off a pair of heels, hurrying over in bare feet as she grabbed a lab coat and yanked it on.

"My brother's wedding." She told him absently, pulling her hands through the sleeves. Tony sighed, about to apologize, but she waved him off. "It's fine. I'll take my apology in the form of a Christmas bonus."

He had to chuckle, nodding, and running a hand through his hair, feeling more and more exhausted by the moment. "She's asleep." He told her. "That's what the other doctors said...she's just...asleep…" He shrugged, at a loss. "And we can't wake her up."

She nodded, grabbing her chart and flipping through it. "Has she been acting strange? Eating more or less? Trouble focusing?"

"I...I think so. Yeah." Tony nodded, she glanced up at him. He waited for her judgment. For her incredulous questions...the same ones he was asking himself. Why wouldn't he know? Didn't Penny live with him? Wasn't he her guardian now? Instead, she gave him a gentle smile.

"How has it been going? I know you just became her guardian...I'm sure it's been hard." He pressed his lips together and nodded, dropping his eyes. He had no answer to that. Couldn't bring himself to brush it off.

"Yeah." He whispered.

Helen continued to look the girl over, he and Pepper sitting on Penny's other side while Helen worked. She asked more questions that Tony couldn't answer...questions that Tony should have been able to answer. Still, when she was done, she placed her hand on Penny's cheek, seeming to feel for something, then turned back to Tony. "I don't think she's asleep."

"What?" He asked, leaning forward in his chair over Penny's bed.

"I think she's hibernating." Pepper's jaw dropped, and he looked down at the girl...the unnaturally still girl in the bed.

"Hibernating?" He repeated, voice faint.

"Yes. The drop in temperature can cause some species of spiders to hibernate, and since her DNA was fused with arachnid DNA…" She shrugged. "Penny is showing all the signs. Dropping temperature, slowed heart rate, slowed breathing…"

"So she...she's okay?" He asked, feeling hope flare in his chest for the first time since he'd seen the girl unconscious on her bed...in a room that hadn't been decorated for her under quilts that wouldn't have looked out of place in a hotel room.

"She's hibernating, and that's a problem...but yes. She's going to be okay."

Tony dropped back in his chair, closing his eyes and placing his hand over Pepper's where it sat on Penny's arm, both of them careful of the IV. She was going to be okay. He still had time. He could still talk to her. Could still try to fix this. Because...she was his kid. He had taken over her guardianship and taken her into his home and now...now she was his kid. And he had to take care of her. Wanted to take care of her. He would read the books, talk to the therapist...whatever it took to help her through this.

While Helen worked on figuring out how to wake Penny up, and while Pepper hurried upstairs to make some phone calls to clear their schedule for the next day or two. He'd also asked her to call the therapist that Rhodey had recommended and set up a tentative appointment for the next weekend. His brain whirled as he came up with ways to fix this...ways to make it all better. A family trip. Somewhere nice and isolated with just the three of them where he could finally talk to the girl...ask her the things he should have asked in the first place. They could work in his lab and maybe fix her suit up together. Something...anything...anything to fix this. Because he was going to fix this.

It took Helen four more hours to come up with something...something about hormones or chemicals...honestly, it was nearly two in the morning, and Tony was exhausted. But he watched Helen insert something into Penny's IV port, and not twelve seconds later, she started to shiver under the blankets. "Penny?" He asked. Beside him in a bed a few feet away, Pepper had long since curled up under her own blanket, shoes kicked off and lying haphazard on the floor, so he kept his voice down.

"She's warming up." Helen murmured, pressing her fingers to Penny's throat. "Heart rate speeding up...good." On the bed, the girl shivered even harder, lips turning down and wobbling, eyes squeezing shut even tighter, and he glanced up at the doctor. "This dose should be enough to keep her from hibernating again, but you might consider keeping the temperature in the tower a little higher...and make sure she stays warm through the winter."

"Turn up the temperature, beach vacation, and lots of winter clothes. Got it." He told her with a grin, brushing his hands through the girl's hair. "Hear that, Pen?" He whispered, leaning in. "We're going to make sure this doesn't happen again, okay?" He pulled the blanket up, tucking it around her neck, then placed his hand on her cold cheek.

"Huh?" The girl asked, turning her head his way and frowning. "Wha…"

"Penny? You with me, kiddo?"

And then she opened her eyes, blinking at him with a confused frown. "Missr...Stark?" She asked.

"Yeah, kiddo. Are you awake?"

"Mhm. Wha...what happened?"

"You tried to take a winter nap on me, Spiderling." If anything, she only looked more confused, but he just smiled. "I'll explain later. How are you feeling?"

"Um...I'm...I'm okay." She muttered, looking around the room and spotting Pepper. "Is Pepper okay?"

"Yeah, Pen, she's fine." He murmured, placing his hand on her cheek. How about I find you something to eat, and then we can talk?"

For a long moment, she just looked at him, something hopeful and afraid in her eyes. But then she nodded, a tiny smile turning the corners of her lips. "Okay."

It had been hard for all of them, and it might get even harder before it was all over, but Tony was going to get his kid through this. No matter what.

_**Thank you so much for reading!**_


	13. PTSD

_PTSD_

It was the thunder that woke him. Peter jerked awake, eyes wide as he stared at the ceiling, his breaths coming in pants. Hands shaking, he balled them into fists around the blanket. He clenched his jaw so hard his teeth hurt, and he closed his eyes, taking deep, deliberate breaths. Nightmare, he told himself. Just a nightmare. Not a big deal. Just a nightmare.

If he kept saying it, Peter might actually start to believe it.

He could hear May's heartbeat in the other room, and he closed his eyes once more, trying to go back to sleep to the sound. Not that he particularly wanted to sleep, but he was going to Mr. Stark's cabin the next day for the weekend and the man would notice if he hadn't slept. Hell, he was probably going to notice anyway, Peter figured as he kicked the covers off. Peter had seen himself in a mirror. He knew that his eyes were sunken and his cheekbones stuck out. He knew that he'd lost weight...that the signs of sleep loss were all over his face. Mr. Stark was bound to notice.

Pulling the covers back over him and tucking them under his chin, Peter rolled over, curling up on his side and opening his eyes. He knew he might as well just give up on sleep since he wasn't going to get any. He'd barely gotten any all week.

Mr. Stark had been on strict bed rest for weeks, including the time that Peter had been on his field trip. That hadn't stopped him from sending Bucky, Sam, and Steve to help Peter out after finding out that he was up against Quinten Beck. And they'd showed up just in time to take out Beck, but only after Peter had already been fooled by his illusion tech and hit by a train. After he already had woken up in a jail cell that he'd escaped from only to have to call Happy, not wanting Mr. Stark to know how much danger he was in.

Happy had, of course, tattled on him, thus the Winter Soldier, Falcon, and Captain America coming to his aid.

Peter hadn't seen much of Mr. Stark since returning from Europe about a week ago. Frankly he hadn't seen much of anyone. May had called him out sick, mostly because he couldn't sleep and could barely eat. He knew she noticed and he hated himself for it. She'd been so worried about him when he'd been in Europe, even without knowing all of the details which he had refused to share. Not that she'd asked. Peter knew how worried she was. He knew that her worry was what had caused her to reach out to Pepper, which was why he was now spending his weekend at Mr. Stark's lake-house.

It wasn't that Peter didn't want to see Mr. Stark. He'd only seen him briefly on the day he'd gotten back from Europe. The man had hugged him and asked if he was okay, and Peter… he couldn't remember much of it actually. He'd known that Mr. Stark had looked worried and that he'd asked him questions and Peter thought he'd answered them. Surely he had. But then May had taken him back home and he'd gone to bed and the nightmares had begun.

It wasn't just the nightmares either. The jumping at every freaking loud noise, like the time May dropped a pot in the kitchen and he nearly jumped to the ceiling. The way his hands shook sometimes or how his spider senses seemed to be fried, and every noise and every touch and every word from another person made him want to scream. He had a feeling he knew what this was. He'd heard the term but he didn't want to use it. He didn't want to think about the fact that he was broken, about how he couldn't be a superhero because all it had taken was one crazy guy with some advanced tech to break him.

Peter gave up on sleep, climbing out of bed and walking to his window to stare out at the thunderstorm. A real storm, he reminded himself. Mysterio was gone. Mysterio wasn't a threat anymore. He'd been taken care of. It was something Peter had to remind himself of multiple times a day, ever since the battle with Mysterio. Ever since Fury had hijacked his field trip and Peter had come home feeling like he'd been shattered.

He was fine, Peter told himself as he stared out the window. Everything was fine. This was a real thunderstorm and the nightmares would go away. Nightmares of Mr. Stark dying on the battlefield. Nightmares of Thanos and fading away and walking up on Titan. Nightmares of Beck hitting him with a train and getting trapped underneath. Nightmares of where he couldn't get out, he couldn't grab the sides, he was going to be crushed.

The watch on his wrist gave a quiet little beep and he stared down at it, jumping in surprise at the noise. In the corner, it told him that his heart rate was too high, and he knew that if he didn't calm down, it would call for help, and he'd be getting a call from Mr. Stark.

Knowing that he was taking a gamble, he slipped it off and put it on his nightstand. The watch had been a present from Mr. Stark when he'd returned to life along with billions of other people. The man had thrown his arms around him on the battlefield, and then it was all a blur, but someone, Rhodey, he thought, had given him the watch before he'd left with May, leaving Mr. Stark recovering at the hospital.

And then he'd gone to Europe. And then he'd met Mysterio, and the Avengers had come to help. Mr. Stark had hugged him when he'd come back. Morgan, Mr. Stark's little girl who seemed to think he was her big brother, which was sweet but not something he could process yet, had hugged him almost as tight as her father. And then he'd been home. Not his home, a new apartment. One that Mr. Stark had probably found for them. And Happy had been coming around but Peter stayed in his new room most days, sometimes texting Ned and MJ, who he'd kissed in Europe but who he had barely spoken to since because he couldn't cope with any of this.

She'd promised him that she understood. That it was fine, that he should take a few days after everything. And that's what he was doing. He was taking a few days, a little vacation from Spider-Man and the real world and life in general and…and he still felt like this. Like he couldn't figure out where he belonged. Like he'd had a home and now he didn't and all he had was this strange new apartment and this strange new bedroom and he just wanted to go home!

May had been the one to tell him that he was going to be staying with Mr. Stark. School was canceled for two weeks after the incident in Europe and honestly, Peter was glad. He didn't think that he could handle school on top of everything else.

He was already packed, so when it was time to go, all he had to do was stand up and follow May out to the car. It wasn't that he didn't want to go. He loved spending time with Mr. Stark. Well, he had, before. Back when he'd spend the occasional day in the lab with him, and they'd gone on missions together. But they'd never been that close. Not that Peter didn't love Mr. Stark, he did! He loved Mr. Stark just like he'd loved his own father and Ben, but he'd never gotten the sense that Mr. Stark felt the same. Sure, Mr. Stark looked out for him and told him he was a good kid and ruffled his hair and they'd even hugged a few times.

But they'd still been _getting there_. Then he'd woken up on Titan and Mr. Stark had a real family, and Peter didn't want to be selfish. Didn't want to be the person that would begrudge the man his happy ending. He just didn't know if Mr. Stark wanted him to be part of it, or if he even could be. How could he be part of anyone's happy ending when he felt this way?

The plan, as May had told him, was that he would go to the lake-house Friday morning, and May would pick him up on Monday. Before he knew it, May was up and making breakfast and he was throwing his bag over his shoulder. After picking at his food, Peter followed May out to the car and they began the journey in near silence. He ran the plan through his mind over and over as he stared out the window, watching the buildings turn to trees. He knew this wasn't just for him. May wanted time alone with Happy. And…

Peter had no idea how he felt about that. At all. So he just didn't.

When the lake-house came into view, Morgan was the first one out the door, racing off the porch and opening his door before he could.

"Petey!" she cried. Morgan was the only one who ever called him that, and it was fine. It was nice. It was cute.

She crawled into his lap and threw his arms around his neck and a part of him wanted to throw her off and scream and claw his own skin off but he caught himself.

_Morgan, _he reminded himself. This was Morgan. He wrapped an arm around her, the best he could do, and was vaguely aware of Mr. Stark coming out the front door. He didn't use the cane anymore. He seemed mostly steady, and the prosthetic arm was a bright, Iron Man red. Peter didn't look right at him, just gave Morgan a quick squeeze.

"How you doing, Mo?"

"Good. You're staying all weekend!"

"I am," he agreed, unbuckling his seatbelt and swinging so that his feet were on the floor. He readjusted his arm around her and stood with her still on his hip. When he finally looked up at Mr. Stark, the man was smiling at them, a smile he'd never given Peter before.

Peter opened the back seat and tossed his backpack over his other shoulder. "So what are we going to do?" Peter asked Morgan.

"We're going to watch movies, and eat juice pops, and go canoeing! Daddy said I'm not allowed to go by myself, and he said that you would take me!"

"Actually, I said that if you asked nicely and the weather was nice, Peter might take you out on the lake," Mr. Stark corrected with a chuckle as Peter approached.

He'd already said goodbye to May, had already promised that he'd be fine and told her to have fun, not wanting to think about what exactly that meant. So he only turned with a quick wave as she drove away, heading back to the city to meet Happy. Mr. Stark stepped forward to meet him, wrapping his arms around Peter and Morgan both.

"Hey, Underoos."

"Hi." Peter smiled, hugging him back as best he could with the five-year-old in his arms.

"Come on in. Let me show you your room."

Peter followed him, feeling like he was in a haze, but he was holding Morgan so he kept a firm grip on him and did his best to keep a grip on reality while he followed Mr. Stark through the house he'd never been to and to a room. His room. Another strange room in another strange place that wasn't really his.

There were two bedrooms, side by side. One had a homemade sign, written in crayon, with the name "Morgan" scrawled in five-year-old handwriting. On the door in front of them was a matching sign, same crayon, same handwriting, but with the name "Peter."

"Do you like it?" Morgan cried. She was bouncing a little while sitting on his arm, feet kicking in excitement, and Peter forced himself back to reality once more, trying to leave thoughts of fake monsters and trains and Beck behind as he made himself smile at her.

"Did you make that?" he asked, voice full of surprise.

"Yes!"

"All by yourself?"

Morgan giggled. "Yes!"

"That's crazy! It's perfect." He gave her another squeeze and she threw her arms around his neck, practically strangling him, and he made himself laugh instead of scream.

It seemed like somehow, Mr. Stark knew that something was wrong. Then again, Mr. Stark could always read him.

"Hey, Morguna. How about we let Peter settle in, huh?" he asked.

He held out his arms and took Morgan from Peter. Holding out his prosthetic arm, he ushered Peter through the door he opened, revealing a bedroom that should have made Peter so happy, that he should have loved. But he found himself forcing the enthusiasm in his voice.

"Wow, Mr. Stark, you didn't have to do all this."

"I know, kiddo. I wanted to." Mr. Stark patted his shoulder. "There are clothes in the closet if you need anything, and the dresser. You already had breakfast?"

"Um, yeah, I ate." And he kind of had...a piece of toast on his way out the door, but he wasn't hungry. He hadn't been hungry in days.

"Alright. You want to get situated in here?"

"Sure, thanks, Mr. Stark." That, at least, had been heartfelt. He really did appreciate Mr. Stark. Truly appreciated him letting Peter stay over. Appreciated how kind he was and how he seemed to genuinely want to spend time with him, but Peter had no idea what to do with that. Everything was different now. Mr. Stark. May. Happy. His apartment and his room and all of his things in boxes that he still hadn't unpacked.

Mr. Stark shut the door behind him and Morgan, and Peter dropped his backpack beside the bed. He'd packed some clothes, but he'd never considered the fact that Mr. Stark would have clothes for him at the lake-house. Moving over to the closet, he opened the door with shaking hands and stared at the shirts hanging there. They were brand new, little white tags hanging from the sleeves and collars...same with the jeans on the other side. He closed the door with a final sounding click and rested his shaking hand on it for a moment.

Mr. Stark had a bedroom for him, complete with dark blue walls and a Star Wars poster on the wall with what looked like a signature from Mark Hamill, but he couldn't bring himself to walk any closer to check. There was a mini-fridge by the desk and... this wasn't a guest room. This was _his room_. A room designed for him at Mr. Stark's lake-house, but why? Not that he didn't appreciate it but…

Peter shook his head and moved to the window, nudging his backpack aside with his foot. He hadn't brought his suit. He'd barely been able to touch it after the battle with Thanos, and just when it had felt like he'd been ready to be Spiderman again, everything with Beck happened. Now he couldn't bring himself to look at it, much less touch it. It lay in a box in the back of his closet, crammed behind all the other boxes.

He wasn't sure if he could it anymore. And then what? What if he never put the suit on again? What use would Mr. Stark have for him then?

Peter stared out at the view of the lake, thinking it was probably the nicest view he'd ever had. There were trees, and through the leaves he could glimpse a gray sky that promised rain later. Yawning, he walked back over to the bed and sat down, then, unable to resist the urge to lay down, head resting on the pile of pillows. It was so comfortable…

The soft click of a doorknob woke him and his eyes flew open. For a moment, he was confused. Where was he? But it all came back as soon as Mr. Stark poked his head in.

"Pete?"

"Huh?" He asked, turning towards the door and blinking blearily at the man who gave him a rueful smile.

"Sorry, kid. I knocked but you didn't answer. You okay?"

"Yeah, yeah, I'm… yeah." He nodded, rubbing his eyes and swinging his feet over the side of the bed as Mr. Stark stepped fully into the room.

"Pepper's making lunch. I thought I'd give you a tour of the place before it starts pouring. Also, I told Morgan that it's against the law to take a canoe on the lake in the rain so just, uh… go with me on that, would you?"

Peter was surprised by the chuckle that escaped his mouth then, lips turning up at the corners. "Last I heard they throw you in jail for that."

Mr. Stark laughed and patted his shoulder. When had he gotten so close? Peter blinked a few times, wondering how that had happened, how he wouldn't have noticed. He shook it off and stood, following the man out into the hallway. Mr. Stark gestured to a partially open bedroom door , letting Peter know it was his and Pepper's, then he pointed to the bathroom Peter and Moran would be sharing while he visited.

"And here's the living room."

Mr. Stark paused in the middle of the room, arm out so Peter could take it in. The living room was cozy with two plush sofas, a fireplace, a big TV, and a coffee table with books on gardening sitting on top. It was all very domestic. Not exactly what he'd expect from tech-expert Tony Stark. Still, it was nice. Then he followed the man into the kitchen where Pepper stood at a kitchen counter in jeans and a t-shirt, feet bare as she chopped her way through a pile of vegetables.

"Peter," she greeted with a smile. Pepper put the knife down and came around the counter to hug him. Peter hugged her back, trying not to remember her in armor, catching him before he fell back into a hoard of aliens ready to rip him apart.

"Hi, Pepper."

"I'm making a salad for lunch with sandwiches. Is that okay?"

"Oh, yeah, but you don't have to, uh, I mean, I'll eat anything. Thanks."

She gave him a soft smile, eyes filled with something like sorrow, then she squeezed his shoulder. "Have you met Gerald yet?"

"Um…" Peter shook his head. "Do you guys have another kid?"

Mr. Stark snorted but Pepper only grinned. "Sort of. Tony, why don't you introduce them?"

Peter was about to ask more questions, but Mr. Stark just put an arm around him, leading him to the front door. Outside, the air smelled like rain and the sky had only gotten darker. He guessed he wouldn't be able to take Morgan out on the canoe anytime soon.

Mr. Stark led him out away from the house and toward what looked like a barn. Peter followed him, through the door, and his eyes widened as they caught on an animal. The older man stepped back, gesturing for Peter to approach the fuzzy creature standing in an open did, hands shoved in his pockets to hide the shaking. The animal let a long breath out of its nose, snorting softly as it regarded him.

Peter glanced back at Mr. Stark. "Um, its… uh, a llama?" he asked, then jumped a little when the animal moved its fuzzy nose closer to him, sniffing his hair.

"Alpaca," Mr. Stark corrected gently with a chuckle. "Peter, meet Gerald. Gerald, this is Pete." The animal grunted, pushing his nose against Peter's hand which was still hidden in his pocket. "Sorry. He thinks you have treats. Gerald, give him some space."

Peter smiled, pulling his hands out from his pockets and burying one in his soft wool.

"It's okay." He stepped a little closer, touching the tuft of wool on top of Gerald's head. "I don't have any treats for you. But I can bring some next time." He offered.

Gerald met Peter's eyes with his own huge, brown ones as if he'd understood him, and Peter felt himself smile, some of the tension melting from his shoulders. Running his hand through the alpaca's wool, he turned to Mr. Stark.

"Why do you have an alpaca?"

Mr. Stark chuckled to himself, expression turning rueful. "I was taking Morgan to the farmer's market and this guy was for sale. She fell in love."

Peter lifted an eyebrow. "Why were you going to a farmer's market?"

He laughed out loud at that. "Because Pepper demands fresh produce and we didn't have any tomatoes."

It felt almost normal, almost like the old days, almost like before. Before the snap, before the battle, before Beck. Before he'd lost his home and his apartment and before he'd been dead for five years.

After showing Peter around the rest of the property around the barn and up to the edge of the lake, Gerald tagging along, they headed inside to lunch. Peter picked at his food and then he sat down on the sofa with Morgan and there were movies. He played a board game with her and… and he couldn't remember any of it. It was like he was existing and breathing and smiling and laughing with Morgan, but Peter wasn't really there.

Finally, it was getting dark outside and thunder boomed and Mr. Stark's voice broke through the fog.

"Alright, Mo. It's time for Peter and me to get some work done downstairs, and you and Mommy are going to play for a while. Okay?"

For a moment, it seemed like Morgan was going to argue. Peter kind of wanted to argue himself. If Mr. Stark got him alone, he'd know. He'd know that something was wrong and that Peter was weak and broken and shattered. He'd know that Peter didn't really belong here, not anymore. But there was no real way to argue, to say he didn't want to go down to the lab where he'd always loved to work. So he was silent as Morgan hugged him, giving her a quick pat on the back before following Mr. Stark downstairs to his lab.

The lab hadn't been included in the earlier tour. Now, he stared at the room and saw a little of the Tony Stark he'd known before. "I saw the suit you made, the one using your webs as a base. Pretty cool stuff, kiddo." Mr. Stark told him with what looked like a proud grin, and Peter tried for a smile that didn't make him look like a robot.

"Thanks. Yeah it, um, worked really well." His voice was off...too high pitched, and he cleared his throat, fighting to sound calm. He was calm. There was nothing to worry about. Nothing to be afraid of. It had all been handled. Beck was in prison and Thanos was gone.

"I was wondering if you wanted to work on the design together, maybe combine our tech, see what we can make?"

No. He didn't want anything to do with tech or suits or aliens or war or…

"Peter? You look kind of pale, buddy." Mr. Stark stepped forward, and suddenly the back of his hand was pressed to Peter's forehead.

He jumped, then forced himself to stay still and breathe. It was just Mr. Stark. Everything was okay. He was safe. It was raining outside, the boom of thunder making him jump again, and Mr. Stark looked so concerned.

"Sorry, sorry." Peter tried to excuse himself, tried to stand upright and wave the man off. "Just, uh, tired. I didn't really sleep last night with the storms and, uh… yeah."

Mr. Stark still looked so concerned, so worried, but he gave a short nod. "Yeah? Alright. Why don't we sit down? Huh?" he suggested, an arm draping over Peter's shoulders. Mr. Stark was doing that a lot, putting an arm around Peter or patting his shoulder. Maybe it was because he had a real kid now.

Just that phrase, real kid, made his heart give a stab of pain Peter couldn't understand. Or didn't want to understand. But he'd always known that he wasn't Mr. Stark's kid. Sure, Peter was lucky that the man wanted anything to do with him at all and that he got to spend as much time as he did. But now the man had a family and Peter couldn't expect him to stop everything just to spend time with him, even if it kind of seemed like he had. _Well_, Peter corrected himself as he wiped a hand over his face and sat as requested, _he hadn't stopped everything_. Tony had invited Peter in. Let Peter join his new, perfect family in his family home and had given him a bedroom and it felt like… like Mr. Stark was inviting him to be a part of his family.

Only that was crazy. Just because he gave Peter a bedroom in his home and just because Morgan called him her big brother, it didn't mean Mr. Stark wanted him to be part of his family. It didn't make Peter anything more than what he'd been before: a kid Mr. Stark was nice enough to take under his wing.

"Pete? Here." Mr. Stark pressed something into his hand and Peter realized it was a little bottle of orange juice. "Try this."

He opened it, muttering his thanks, then draining it in a few swallows.

"You want some more?"

"No, um… no, thanks. I'm fine. Just, uh, I didn't bring my suit so we can, uh… we can work on something else. If you want." His voice was edged with a desperation he was trying and failing to hide, and Mr. Stark watched him for a moment before nodding.

"Of course. How about nanotech? We never got to do much with that." Mr. Stark's eyes were sad for a moment. Filled with guilt and grief and it hit Peter, as it had before he'd gone to Europe, how much Mr. Stark seemed to have missed him. Of course, Peter thought, the man had thought he'd been dead. And, well, he had been. It was weird to think about. But the way Mr. Stark had looked at him, and still looked at him sometimes, like he was a miracle. Peter didn't know how to react, how to take it in. He'd just been Spiderman, a kid that Mr. Stark had seemed pretty fond of, who had taken him under his wing, but Peter hadn't been family.

Now, it seemed, Mr. Stark almost wanted him to be.

But if he knew, a part of Peter's brain whispered as he stood and followed Mr. Stark over to his workstation, if he knew how shattered he was, how useless, then he'd change his mind.

It was the thunder that woke him that night. No, not quite thunder. Well, there _was_ thunder, and rain pelting the roof. The rain was what had put him to sleep after hours in the lab where things had almost felt normal and dinner with Mr. Stark's family. He had agreed to read Morgan her bedtime story, the two of them curled up her bed as he turned the pages. Mr. Stark had stood in the doorway for a moment, an unreadable expression on his face. Or maybe it wasn't unreadable. Maybe Peter just didn't know if he wanted to believe it, if he could let himself hope for the kind of love in Mr. Stark's eyes. After Morgan's bedtime story, Peter had joined Mr. Stark and Pepper in their living room, the three of them watching a movie and then Peter had told them that he was tired and had headed off to bed.

It had taken him what had felt like hours to fall asleep, staring at the ceiling with eyes that had filled with tears. This wasn't his home. This wasn't his family. That was the refrain that had played in his mind over and over. He didn't get to keep any of this. Mr. Stark had a real kid and a real family and Peter was a nobody kid from Queens who couldn't even be a superhero anymore. He'd died and come back to a world that had no place for him. Those had been his last thoughts before something had woken him, and he sat up a little, glancing first at the window, then at the door right as lightning flashed and illuminated the bedroom.

The figure in the doorway made his heart stop for a split second before he realized that the figure was much too small to be Beck.

"Morgan?"

"I'm scared," she whispered, approaching his bed and clutching her blanket. "It's really loud and it woke me up." As she came closer, he saw the tears on her cheeks and reached out his arms without thinking.

"Come on," he urged. "You can stay with me."

The girl practically threw herself into his arms, sniffing and obviously trying to stop crying. Peter shifted on his bed, laying her on the other pillow, then pulled the blankets up to her chin with hands that had started shaking the moment the battle with Beck had ended and hadn't stopped.

But more important than his thoughts of Beck and Thanos and the world that no longer had a place for him was the little girl in the bed beside him. Peter brushed her hair back, then began to tuck her in, making her a blanket burrito just like Ben had for him when he'd been unable to sleep.

"I can't move," she protested in a whisper once he was done.

"You don't have to. You're sleeping," he whispered back, smiling when she giggled again. "Do you remember Thor?" Peter ran his hand through her long hair and tucking it behind her ear. She nodded, eyes already drifting shut again. "Well, did you know that he can make thunder?"

"Really?" she murmured.

"Really. It's not scary, I promise. It might even mean he's nearby, keeping us safe."

The words tasted like dust and ash in his mouth, but they made her smile so he said them. Thunder meant Thor, he told himself again. Not Beck. Not his illusions. Thunder meant Thor and Thor was safe.

He laid his head back down, tensing once more at the sound of thunder booming, but beside him, Morgan was sound asleep. He didn't dare close his eyes, though. He'd shredded his bedding a few nights ago in the middle of a nightmare. Peter had bit down on a pillow in his sleep to keep himself from screaming and had woken up with torn blankets and a ruined pillow. He couldn't risk falling asleep and having a nightmare, not with Morgan right there.

Every time he closed his eyes, he felt it. His senses fired off warning after warning. Something was wrong, something bad was happening. Beck wasn't in jail he was here he was going to get Peter, he was going to make him see it all again. Or maybe this wasn't real, maybe none of it was real. Maybe he was still with Beck, maybe Beck had won and…

Peter climbed out of bed as quietly as he could as his heart raced. Without thinking, he left the bedroom, closing the door almost all the way, then went straight for the front door. Out. He had to get out. He was suffocating and Beck still had him and he was going to hurt Morgan!

The water on his face and the mud squishing under his bare feet didn't wake him up. It could all be an illusion. It had all felt so real, watching MJ fall and watching Ned crumble and watching May disappear and standing at Mr. Stark's gravestone... It had all been real! Then Nick Fury standing in front of him, turning into Beck, and the train!

Peter was running. He didn't know where, but he had to get away. He had to get away from Beck who might still be out there. Away from Thanos who would snap his fingers again. Away from Morgan who he would so easily hurt so easily kill without meaning to. Away from Mr. Stark who thought he was strong and brave and a hero when he was just a nobody kid from Queens who had been shattered and broken…

The barn smelled like hay, mostly, and an animal. Alpaca, he realized as the world seemed to come back into focus. Gerald. Mr. Stark's alpaca. The animal lay curled up in his stall, lifting his head as Peter entered the barn. He stared at Gerald for a long moment, feeling his hand shake and his stomach clench and every time he closed his eyes he could see it all. Beck and Thanos and Mr. Stark's tombstone and… Peter didn't know how much longer he could hide this from Mr. Stark.

Peter moved forward on numb legs, dropping to his knees at Gerald's side. The animal watched him as he buried his face into its side, the first sob leading to the next to the next to the next until he couldn't stop. Until he was soaking Gerald's wooly flank with his tears, fingers burying themselves in the animal's side, but Gerald didn't seem to mind. He just laid there, letting Peter cry into his wool until words finally spilled out.

"I can't… something's wrong. Please, please, I can't—" he cried, the words cut off by a ragged sob as his whole body shook.

"I can't take it. Please, please make it stop…"he begged. "I can't do this anymore, I can't!"

The footsteps shouldn't have surprised him. Honestly, was there anything Tony Stark didn't know? Still, he buried himself into Gerald's side, as if that would stop Mr. Stark from seeing him. Peter should have known that the man would find him. He should have run farther, should've kept running. He should've kept running and running until he could never be found.

Mr. Stark's knees popped softly as he knelt down beside Peter and Gerald.

"Hey, buddy," he murmured.

Peter wanted to ask how he'd found him, how he'd even known that Peter was awake and had left the house. Instead, he kept his face hidden against Gerald and waited, part of him praying that the man would leave. Another part of him wanted Mr. Stark to pull him into his arms like he did Morgan and promise him that it would be okay.

The man was silent for a long time, so long that Peter thought he could have dozed off if his heart hadn't been racing, if he hadn't been suffocating himself with an alpaca. Finally, though, a hand landed on his back, hesitant at first, then rubbing firm circles when Peter went absolutely still, practically holding his breath in an effort to keep the tears back. There was still a chance Mr. Stark didn't know how screwed up he was… how useless how stupid how weak…

Gerald let out a rumbling sigh, turning his neck and tucking his head into his side, and taking advantage of the vacated space, Mr. Stark moved closer, reaching out with his other hand and squeezing Peter's shoulder.

"Come here, bud," he urged, the metal hand somehow not cold on his shoulder through his pajama top. "Pete? It's okay. Come here."

His voice was so gentle, so kind, that Peter didn't have the heart to ignore him any longer. He turned and practically threw himself into Mr. Stark's arms, telling himself that he wasn't going to lose it just as his tears betrayed him and the sobs came back. Mr Stark settled against the wall, stretching his legs out in front of him and maneuvering Peter until he was practically on his lap.

"Shh… you're okay. I've got you, kid. Promise."

And for what felt like the hundredth time that week, Peter cried, feeling stupid and helpless and certain that as soon as the man holding him figured out what was really going on, he'd leave. Or worse, he'd ask Peter to leave.

It took ages for him to force the tears to a stop, to control the sobbing and get his breathing under control. Mr. Stark never seemed impatient, though. His heart beat normally in his chest and it was the sound, that steady thumping, whooshing noise, that allowed Peter to breathe normally again. Sure he was about to be interrogated, Peter closed his eyes and kept his face hidden in the man's shoulder.

Mr. Stark kept his metal arm around Peter, placing the flesh and blood hand on the back of his hair and pressing him a little closer.

"I missed you… I missed you so much, Peter," he whispered, as if afraid of waking Gerald. "I thought, when Happy told me what was happening in Europe, what Fury did… god, Peter." His voice broke a little, and Peter thought for a moment that he might actually cry. Instead, the man took a deep, steadying breath and held him closer. "I love you, kid. I hope you know that. I know I was a shit mentor before and I kept you at arm's length for some idiotic reason and— and I know that I never said it because I was fucking terrified to. But I love you so much."

The tears were back, this time silent and… not quite happy, but something like relief. Warmth filled Peter's chest. Mr. Stark loved him. He loved him. Did that mean… all this… could he really believe it?

"I'm so sorry I never told you. I'm sorry it took me so long to bring you back. I'm sorry I gave up. I'm sorry that I couldn't help you while you were in Europe or stop Fury or… Pete, I'm so sorry."

The arms around him tightened even more and Peter returned the hug, desperate now. He couldn't let this go. He couldn't live without it now that he had it, and his brain still whispered that if Mr. Stark knew what he was thinking and what was wrong with him, he'd take it all back.

But before Peter could even sit with that thought for long, Mr. Stark went on. "I know that this is hard for you. And I know that you've been trying to push it down and not deal with it. I know that you're scared and probably traumatized from all this shit. Hell, I am, and I didn't even have to deal with Beck. But I'm right here. Whenever you're ready to talk, I'm here and I love you so much, kiddo. You... you're my boy, Pete. And I can't believe it took you dying to make me realize how much I loved you, and how important you were to me but it did, and I'm so _sorry_, kid. But I want to be here for you now, however you want me to be."

Peter couldn't stop himself from tightening his arms around Mr. Stark's neck, trying to get closer. Close enough that Mr. Stark couldn't take it back when he found out that Peter had been shattered and had no idea how to put himself back together. But he wanted to talk about it all of a sudden, so desperately wanted to get it off his chest. So he closed his eyes and opened his mouth and hoped for the best.

"I don't know what to do," he whispered, voice breaking, but he kept going anyway, ignoring the wavering and the tears and just needing to get the words out. "I'm scared all the time and I can't sleep and I don't feel like I'm real… I don't— I don't know what's happening. I can't do it, I can't do it anymore and I'm sorry. I'm sorry, Mr. Stark. I'm supposed to be a superhero but I can't…"

Mr. Stark pulled away just a little, running a thumb under Peter's eyes and wiping fruitlessly at the tears that fell.

"I don't want to disappoint you. I tried to stop Beck, but I made a mistake and he won and he made me see things and sometimes I don't know what's real anymore." He admitted in a voice that broke again. "I can't do it. I can't be Spiderman, I can't…"

He waited for the disgust and the yelling and the admonishment. Something. Anything. But Mr. Stark just looked at him like he loved him and like he was so worried.

"Okay. That's okay, buddy. If you need to take a break, or if you never want to pick up the suit again… that's okay. Either way, I'm still right here."

It felt like his strings had been cut. Peter went boneless against the man's chest, too exhausted and probably dehydrated to cry anymore, but Mr. Stark caught him easily, running his fingers through Peter's hair.

"You're my kid, Pete. I love you no matter what. And this thing you're dealing with, I'm going to help you get through it, okay? I promise. I've got some experience with it myself. Hell, just ask Rhodey what a mess I was a few years ago. But I've got you now, Pete. It's going to be alright."

Thunder boomed outside, louder than before, and Mr. Stark tightened his arms almost protectively when Peter flinched.

"Morgan was scared of the thunder," Peter told Mr. Stark as his eyes grew heavier and heavier. He was safe, he realized. For the first time in days and weeks, his senses went quiet and he took a deep, relieved breath. "I was afraid I'd have a nightmare and hurt her."

"She really loves you, you know? Won't shut up about how cool her new big brother is." Mr. Stark told him with a gentle chuckle. He pressed a little on Peter's shoulder until he was laying down, Peter's head pillowed on Mr. Stark's lap, knees curled up to his chest. "Apparently Spiderman is cooler than Ironman."

"Course he is,"Peter told him with a smile, the first real one in what felt like so long. The man above him snorted but kept stroking his hair. Then he remembered the other thing, the thing that had been somehow pushed to the back of his mind behind all the fear and the hurt and the trauma. "I kissed MJ in Europe. Not like I planned to, but, uh, I think she's my girlfriend now." His eyes were closed now, but he'd been so excited when it had finally happened.

"Really? That's great, Pete. I wanna meet this MJ girl you're always talking about. She sounds like an amazing girl."

"She is… she's so great, Mr. Stark."

The man's fingers massaged circles into his temples and he felt the world start to fade away.

"Mr. Stark?"

"Hm?"

"I love you… 'm so glad you're okay."

"I love you too, Pete. More than I could tell you. You wanna try to go back to bed?"

"I'm good here."

Mr. Stark laughed softly, patting his shoulder. "Alright buddy. Get some rest."

_**Thank you for reading!**_


	14. Child Abuse

_Child Abuse_

Penny was surprised to find herself nervous as she clutched the hands on either side of her. Head bowed, eyes closed, she repeated the serenity prayer after their coach, feeling only a little less silly than when she'd done it the first time. On the other side of the curtain was an audience full of people including May, all of them here to watch this competition, nothing like the Academic Decathlon meets she'd be to. No...this was a full house. Spectators from both schools, families and principals and teachers..the bleachers were absolutely packed.

She hadn't wanted May to come. In fact, if keeping it a secret from May altogether had been an option, she would have gone with that one. Partly because it was almost embarrassing...sure, she'd wanted to be a cheerleader when she'd been a little girl, although asthma had been something of a barrier. Plus her general lack of grace. But as she'd grown up, she'd gone alone with the general population in their belief that cheerleaders were mostly stuck-up and rude, even at a STEM school like Midtown. Now, waiting for the serenity prayer to be over, her hands clasping those of her teammates, she felt bad about all those mean thoughts over the years.

She'd mostly lost her desire to be a cheerleader as she'd entered high school, entertaining it for a moment when she'd seen a flyer advertising tryouts after getting her powers, and then throwing it out as an idea when Mr. Stark had first come to visit her. And in that moment, when she'd confided in him that sure, she wished she could be a cheerleader now that she was different, she'd really felt it. Something about it had seemed almost irresistible. As much as she told Ned that she was fine with not being popular, the appeal of it was still there, always lurking in the back of her mind.

But it wouldn't have been fair, she knew, to use her new powers to gain popularity and take a spot on a team that she hadn't actually earned. Not even a little. So she'd brushed these thoughts away and contended herself with lab visits with Mr. Stark twice a month, spending time with Ned and MJ during Decathlon, and patrolling the streets of Queens.

And it was great. Really, it was. She had a fantastic life, and slowly but surely, she felt like she and Mr. Stark were getting closer. He would laugh more and seemed to almost look forward to seeing her on their lab days. There was something about him when they were working together...something light. Something happy. And she was happy too. Happy that there was someone in her life, not to take the place of her uncle, but...well, she wasn't sure how she felt about it. And she doubted very much that Mr. Stark spent much time thinking about it either. Sometimes she worried that she was more of a bother...a nuisance, than anything approaching…

That didn't matter.

It all started with a rumor.

Well...not a rumor, exactly. A whisper. Part of a whispered conversation heard in the hallway between classes. Ned has been shoving his books into his locker, and Penny had been grabbing her Chemistry book, stuffing it into her backpack, when she'd heard the words.

Glancing up on instinct when she'd heard the hitch in the other girl's voice, she'd quickly dropped her eyes after realizing who it was. Mandy Wong. One of the prettiest girls in their grade. Close to top of the junior class, only four spots behind Penny (and five above Flash). And a cheerleader. Not just a cheerleader, though. One of the best, apparently. Practically the poster girl for the Midtown Cheerleaders.

Mandy's eyes had been a little puffy as she had put her face close to Ally Thompson's, and Penny had stared down at her book as they'd whispered.

"You have to tell someone."

"Who's going to believe me? He's the best coach we've ever had. The season just started! Tryouts are next week! No way we'll get someone new in time!"

And then Ned's voice had cut thorough Penny's concentration. "Okay, so I was thinking we could…"

Penny had held up a hand before Ned could finish his sentence. For a moment, he'd looked almost offended, but she had shaken her head and gave him an apologetic smile. "Just a second."

He had looked around, trying to find out who she was listening to, but she'd grabbed his arm, shaking her head, mind spinning. She'd never had a class with Mr. Sanchez, one of their Pre Cal teachers and the cheerleading coach. And she'd never heard anything about him...no rumors of him being more difficult than other teachers or meaner or even a hint that he had ever been too...familiar with any of his students. There had been rumors about their old freshman social studies teacher being a bit too friendly with his favorite students, but then he'd retired.

But Mandy had been crying. She had been trying to hide it but still. And Penny didn't know Mandy or the teacher personally. But she was Spider-Girl and Spider-Girl helped people. All people. Even cheerleaders who hadn't always been exactly friendly to her. So, as she and Ned made their way to their next class, Penny had started to plan.

During breaks on patrols that evening, Penny had looked up instructional cheerleading videos, knowing in some part of her that this wasn't her best plan, but it was the one she would go with. No way she could just wait for something to happen to another girl. And there was only one way she could investigate for herself...she didn't exactly have any friends on the team. Squad. Whatever. So she'd watched videos for beginners, eyes tracking the moves on the tiny screen. She'd read articles. Tips on how to stand out in tryouts. She was sure that wouldn't be much of an issue. She might not know much about cheerleading itself, but she had a feeling that her newfound flexibility and strength and her ability to do flips and cartwheels and handsprings and any other move listed on the websites would be a mark in her favor.

That evening, she'd sat nervously at the kitchen table, a flyer she'd snagged from the bulletin board in hand as she'd waited for May. She knew that May loved her...that her aunt would support her no matter what. She also knew that May would find a way to pay for her to do this if it was what she really wanted...and that her aunt could never know why exactly she suddenly decided to try out for the Midtown Wolverines Cheer Squad Using herself as bait for a possible pedophile would never go down well, no matter how nicely she phrased it. And she doubted she would be able to get Mr. Stark on board either.

As soon as May had stepped into the house, obviously taking note of the hot Thai takeout on the counter and the table set for two, she'd had know that something was up. But Penny had been pleasantly surprised, and guilty, when her aunt had seemed almost excited.

"I never thought you'd be interested in cheerleading...are you sure you have time between Academic Decathlon and the lab days and," here she'd lowered her voice as though someone else had been close enough to hear, "lab days?"

"Yeah, I'm sure. And...I don't know. It's my junior year and I...I don't really have that many more chances to try things in high school. But...you don't think it's cheating, do you?"

May had shaken her head, although her conviction hadn't swayed Penny much. "Of course not. You still have to work with a team and practice...I'm just worried it's going to be too much."

"It won't. I promise."

"Alright...well, make sure you tell Mr. Stark just in case you have to miss lab days."

And Penny had nodded with absolutely no intention of doing that. There was no reason for Mr. Stark to know that she was trying to become a cheerleader...or why she would do something like that.

As predicted, tryouts had been almost too easy thanks to her new skills. She'd even showed off a little, admitting to herself later that it had been fun. It had been fun to flip and tumble and even, toward the end, find herself paired up with one of the other junior boys, already on the team, with biceps the size of her head who had thrown her up in the air, allowing her to flip and spin and land securely in the arms of the two boys assigned to her section. It had been exhilarating to trust someone that much...to put her faith in those boys who had caught her every time without fail. It had been exciting to stand amongst the other girls, most of the incoming freshmen or sophomores, and wait to see what the coach would ask them to do next.

And despite the confused looks thrown her way from the girls already on the team, there had been no hostility. No demands to know why Penny Parker of all people thought she would be allowed to try out for the cheerleading squad. Instead, after the confusion had abated and they'd gotten a glimpse of what she could do, they'd looked even more excited than her aunt. And Coach Sanchez had looked the most excited of all. They were a good team, but a few of the best had graduated the year before, and they had been hoping to find some new talent.

Penny, it seemed, was that new talent.

She had quickly learned that cheerleading was not about cheering for the football team, but about grueling practices twice a week that often resulted in injuries, from torn muscles to bruised ribs to actual broken bones, all leading up to competitions between teams.

She'd also learned that she loved it. She loved working as a part of a big team and she loved the friendships that came with it...the family that came with it. She loved being thrown in the air just like she loved swinging around Queens, and she loved tumbling and competing and...and she loved almost every part of it. Keeping it a secret from Mr. Stark hadn't been hard, since their lab days were usually on Saturdays when there was no practice, and their first competition was on a Sunday, so there was no worry of overlapping. Bruises and the sprained wrist she'd gotten were easily explained away as patrolling accidents, and they were never serious enough to make him question her any further.

He did ask her about school more and more as the first semester of her junior year went on, and about Academic Decathlon. She didn't mention that MJ was pissed at her for missing a meet thanks to cheerleading practice, or that her friend didn't know about Spider-Girl or her most recent undercover mission. She didn't mention that the cheerleading coach had let his hand linger for just a little too long a few days ago, which meant that she was possibly getting closer to the truth, or that she'd stumbled upon Mandy crying in the locker room only for the girl to brush it off as pms. So, she thought, since he never asked directly about any of these things, she wasn't lying by not bringing it up.

Right?

The boy on her left, Jeremy, who was her partner for quite a bit of their routine and who would be the one both throwing and catching her, squeezed her hand and gave her a tenuous smile that she struggled to return. Nerves clawed at her stomach, and Penny forced herself to take a deep breath. This was no big deal. Just a quick little routine like she'd done a thousand times. She knew it like the back of her hand...hand dreamed about it more than once. She had the aching ribs and bruised knees to prove it.

There was cheering from the audience as they started to run onto the stage, chanting and yelling and waving their arms, and just like every time she'd performed for an audience, Penny felt the adrenaline rush take over. Heart racing, she pasted the giddy smile on her face and ran out right behind Jeremy, moving to her spot on the hardwood floor. The green top and skirt, edged in sparkling gold, caught her eye as she saw her teammates moving into place, those same smiles on their faces.

And then the music started.

The routine was like breathing to Penny as she moved, every move listed in her brain in order, feet pounding on the floor as she tumbled in time to the beat, then moved into place for Jeremy to place his hands on her waist, both of them kneeling, then tossing her up so that he could get his hands under her feet and lift her high in the air. She'd been higher, of course. Hell, she'd perched on the edge of the Empire State Building...and then she'd jumped, freefalling for what felt like several minutes before shooting a web to catch herself, heart pounding with adrenaline. But this was different. This was trusting all the other people on her team to be in the right spot, to do the right things, as she was thrown up in the air, body twisting, toes pointed, until he caught her again.

First big jump, done.

The routine continued, the crowd screaming in encouragement under the beat of the music, and then Jeremy was holding her again, one of her arms straight up, the other bent at the elbow, fist against her hip. Her first pause as the tumblrs did their part, and she caught sight of May...and beside her, a flash of dark hair and dark glasses that made her heard flutter just a little.

Mr. Stark.

She almost missed her cue. Almost missed the change in Jeremy's grip that meant it was time for her to jump...to be thrown high in the air and twist and spin, her favorite part of the routine, but just in time she bent her knees, then leapt, spinning and twisting…

And that was the last thing she remembered before the world went dark.

When Penny came to, there were people talking. Rushed, gasping words and fingers pressed to her neck and then a loud, authoritative voice she knew as well as her own by this point. "She's my intern."

"That doesn't mean you can just…"

"It does. I have my own med team and they are going to take care of her."

And beyond that, fierce, furious whispers. "Why weren't you in your spot?" Jeremy. She'd never seen Jeremy, the six foot three boy from Harlem who could probably break her in half, angry. Frustrated, sure, but never actually angry. Now he sounded it.

"I was! You were…"

"No you weren't!" That was Mandy, her voice almost tearful.

Penny's head pounded, and she wanted to get up and assure everyone that she was okay. That it had just been a little bump or something...whatever it had been. But even twitching her eyelids made her head explode in pain, and so she was still until something was slid under her back, and a hand clasped hers.

"Penny? Kiddo? Can you hear me?"

Before she could answer, her eyelids were being peeled back and she gave a gasping scream as a pinpoint of light drilled it's way into her brain.

"It's okay. It's just Helen. You're okay."

How had Helen gotten to her school so fast? Or maybe she'd been out for a long time? Either way, she felt tears run down her cheeks and the hand in hers squeezed as her coached yelled in the background.

It wasn't until they were in a dark, enclosed room that she quickly realized was a van owned by Mr. Stark and specifically designed as a private ambulance that Penny managed to get her eyes open. Head pounding, she tried to bring a hand up to press against it, but her movements were slow and uncoordinated and she found it nearly impossible.

"Hey...easy, kiddo. You're okay."

"Wha...what happened?" She wanted to ask why he was there. What he was doing at her cheerleading competition and why Helen was there, but 'what happened' seemed to be the limit as her head throbbed, making thinking almost impossible.

"That asshole didn't catch you," Mr. Stark murmured, a hand brushing her hair back. When she tried to turn her head, she quickly discovered it was immobile. "Easy. Don't try to move. Helen has you in a neck brace just in case. You're okay."

"Jeremy...he always catches me."

"According to the coach, one of them was in the wrong spot," he told her, voice soft. Almost soothing. He'd never been like this before, but it was a nice kind of strange. His fingers kept running through her hair, gently stroking her head and avoiding a spot that she assumed had been the place she'd hit, because it was the place that throbbed the most. "You're going to be fine. Don't worry." For a moment, there was quiet between them, with Helen's soft tapping on her tablet and the almost silent beeping of a machine being the only noises. "So...cheerleading, huh?"

There was really no point in denying it, so she hummed in the affirmative.

"You never told me you were a cheerleader."

"You didn't ask," she muttered, and he gave a soft, almost incredulous chuckle.

"My bad, kiddo. Guess I should have gone down the list...are you on the football team? Soccer? Debate?" Penny gave a weak smile and he sighed, voice a little more serious. "How's your head feel?"

"Hurts."

"You landed hard, Pen...hell kid, I thought…" Penny looked up at him, watching his eyes close and his lips press together hard. "Why didn't you tell me?"

She decided to go with a version of the truth. "I didn't think it mattered."

His eyebrows furrowed. "You didn't think it mattered?"

Her head gave a spike of pain and she closed her eyes, fingers closing around his almost too tightly before she remembered herself and let go, gripping the sheets instead.

"Enough talk for now," Helen interjected softly, placing a cool, wet rag over Penny's eyes. "Penny, try to stay awake for me, okay? We're going to get you to the medbay and have you spend the night under observation."

Surprisingly, Mr. Stark gave up, just resting his hand over hers until they reached the tower.

It was hours later that Mr. Stark came to her room, tray in hand, and sat down beside her bed. "Your aunt mentioned the competition during our phone call. Otherwise I never would have known." Placing the tray on the little table in front of her, he sat back, arms crossed as he observed her. Penny, dressed now in pajamas with an ice pack to her head, carefully removed the tray cover to reveal what looked like homemade lasagna.

"Your phone call?"

"Yeah. We have them every week...one of the conditions for me being allowed to help you out with the whole superhero thing."

"Oh." Grabbing the fork, she picked self-consciously at the food until he gestured for her to eat.

"She seemed surprised that I didn't know."

"I just…" Penny sighed, fighting the lingering pain and fatigue. All she wanted to do was sleep, but Helen had wanted her to stay awake for a little while longer. "I didn't think you'd care, Mr. Stark. Really...it doesn't have anything to do with Spider-Girl and…"

"Pen." Mr. Stark's voice was so soft that she might have missed it had she not had enhanced hearing. Dropping her eyes, she stared once more at her food. "Kiddo...you've got to know that Spider-Girl isn't the only reason we spend time together."

"I…" She shrugged. "That's why you wanted to recruit me. And I get it! And it's so cool that you let me come over and work in your lab but…" Penny trailed off, not wanting to say it. Not wanting it confirmed.

"You're a smart kid, Penny. Hell, one of the smartest I've ever met. So you have to know how wrong that is." Not daring to hope, she kept staring at the lasagna. "Pen, I…" Clearing his throat, the man glanced at the closed door, then back at her. "I never wanted kids, you know? I mean, I never even let myself think about it cause my dad...he was a real piece of work. And he fucked me up good. I didn't want to be that person. So I never let myself think about it. But you...kid, you're like...I mean, you're May's kid and I don't think that I could ever take the place of your uncle. And I don't want to! But...that...that's how I think of you. I don't want to spend time with you because you're Spider-Girl. I want to spend time with you because you're Penny Parker. And Penny Parker is...I think of her as like my kid."

Penny ignored the tears that had spilled over, doing her best to keep them in, but when he moved over to the bed, pushing the table out of the way and wrapping his arm around her, she brought a hand up, gripping his shirt, and lost the battle with the sobs that had been fighting to get out. She hadn't dared hope. Hadn't even begun to let herself think about this...the chance that she might have been wrong had been too great, too scary to contemplate. But he'd said it! He thought of her as his kid!

It made sense. It had always made sense. She'd just never dared to hope.

Burying her face in his shirt, she let herself be held. Let herself remember Ben, and how he'd held her the same way, and let herself feel comforted now that she had someone in that place now. Not a replacement for Ben. Something new. Something different, but just as good. Mr. Stark rested a hand against the back of her head, lips pressing to her forehead as she cried, and she wondered if it was the relief or the concussion making her so emotional. Either way, it was a long time before she was finally able to calm down and eat the food that Mr. Stark had brought her.

That was when she decided to tell the truth. "Mr. Stark?"

"Yeah, kiddo?" he asked, taking a bite from the garlic bread he'd swiped from her plate. She didn't mind. He was sure to have another tray of food brought in as soon as she was done with this one. They both knew how her metabolism worked.

"I...I need to tell you something?"

"Yeah…" he gave her a suspicious look. "Another secret team? Are you actually the quarterback too?"

Penny huffed a laugh that only hurt her head a little. "No...um...it's about cheerleading."

"Okay." Mr. Stark crossed his arms, giving her his full attention.

"I didn't join cheerleading because I wanted to."

He narrowed his eyes. "You didn't?"

"I mean...I really like," she admitted. "Like...a lot. But...that's not why I tried out."

"Then why?"

"I think...I mean, I don't have proof yet but...I think the coach...I think Coach Sanchez is hurting some of the girls." It was as close as she could get to saying it, the words tumbling out of her mouth, and for a moment, he just watched her, and she could see the wheels turning in his brain. Then it clicked.

"You joined as bait?" he hissed, leaning in. Penny shrugged, giving her best smile.

"I mean...I couldn't just question him. And I didn't know anyone on the team so…"

Mr. Stark held up a hand, closing his eyes and seeming to gather himself. "Okay." He sighed. "Okay. Does May know?"

"No!" she cried, shaking her head. And she can't…" Penny pressed her lips together when he gave her a look. Not angry. More...reproving.

"Has he done anything to you?"

"No...not really." He lifted an eyebrow, waiting. Concerned. "I mean, sometimes he's really friendly, like, in a weird way, and he puts his hands on my shoulders a lot but…" Penny shrugged. That, though, was apparently enough for him.

"Okay. I'm going to take care of this."

"No, Mr. Stark…"

"Look, Pen. What you were trying to do...it was good. And I know that you can handle yourself. But...just...let me do this, okay?" He leaned in, taking her hand and squeezing a little. "You shouldn't have to be Spider-Girl in school. You shouldn't be responsible from protecting students from teachers. And that includes yourself. Let me take care of it." He was asking. And honestly, it was almost a relief. It would suck to lose her coach...but she wouldn't have to worry anymore. Wouldn't have to worry about him being alone with the other girls or figuring out a way to prove his guilt.

Mr. Stark was going to take care of it.

So she nodded, and he gave her a soft smile, reaching out and cupping the side of her head. "Alright, kiddo. Let me get you some more food and then you can rest. I set a room up for May down the hall. Just let me know if you need anything?"

Penny nodded, and, with a last smile and pat on her arm, he was gone to finish the job she'd started.

They had a new coach within the week.

**Thank you for reading!**


	15. Sleepy

**From a prompt: Penny sneaks out and Thor comforts her.**

Penny leaned against the brick wall behind her, sighing as the rain soaked her to the bone, fighting the exhaustion that had been her constant companion for so long. She wasn't even supposed to be out...Mr. Stark had given her one rule. Made one request. Don't go out as Spider-Girl when he was in DC. One thing. And she hadn't even been able to do that. Wiping a hand over her face, she held back a sob, resting her head on the brick wall and feeling the tears run down her face, mixing with the rainwater. After everything he'd done for her, she couldn't even do one thing.

What was wrong with her?

He'd taken her in. Despite the ferry, despite taking the suit...despite her mistakes, the moment he'd found out about May (via Happy) Mr. Stark had showed up at the door to her foster house, looking uncomfortable. Out of place. Penny's foster brother had been the one to open the door, had looked Mr. Stark up and down, and had almost slammed the door in his face in his haste to call for their foster parents.

Penny had stayed in her room, the one she'd shared with another girl that she hadn't yet spoken to, watching from the top of the stairs as her foster father had gone to talk to him...and then he'd led the man upstairs to where Penny had been sitting, curled up on the bed, back against the pillow, her math book sitting on the bed in front of her. Mr. Stark had hesitated in the doorway behind her foster father who had cleared his throat. "Penny. There's, um...there's someone here to see you. You up for a visitor?"

Penny had just nodded. She hadn't spoken to the people housing her and feeding her yet, despite the fact that she'd been living with them for almost a week. She'd barely spoken to Ned or her teachers...she had felt like she was living her life in an exhausted haze...like she was numb was vaguely sick all the time and then Mr. Stark, the man who'd shouted at her and taken away her suit and sent her home...he had been in her room. Sitting on her bed, just like he had before. But this time, May hadn't been there. This time, she'd been in a strange place with strange people.

For a long time, the man had been silent. But then he'd reached out, hesitating before patting her on the shoulder. "Hey, kiddo."

She had just stared at him, wondering if she stayed silent for long enough, she'd forget how to talk. Besides, she'd had no idea what to say to him. Hi? Lovely weather we're having? My aunt had a heart attack and I found her on the kitchen floor. How's your month been? So Penny had lowered her eyes instead, wishing he would move his hand and wishing he would leave her alone there in her miserable new life. Instead, he had squeezed her shoulder, looking lost. Looking, for once, like he had no idea what to say.

"I'm, uh...I'm really sorry, Penny. About your aunt."

Penny had nodded, never knowing how to answer that. Never knowing what to say to people who apologized for things they'd had no control over.

"Happy just found out...I didn't know. I swear, I...I had no idea."

What would you have done, Penny had wanted to ask. You took my suit and you told me I was done and now...what? Would have have given it back? Helped me take the Vulture down? But her throat had been closed tight, and so she still hadn't spoken. Hadn't known how to speak. So she'd just let them sit in silence.

"Do...do you need anything? Or...is...is there anything I can do?" She'd shaken her head and he'd removed his hand, then stood, arms crossed tight. "Alright. I...I'm sorry, Penny. Really. I...I'm so sorry. If you need anything, just...just call me. Okay? Or Happy. Call Happy."

And then he'd been gone.

Her next visitor had come a few days later. Her social worker. The woman, who had been surprisingly friendly and soft spoken, had sat on her bed in the same spot that Mr. Stark had, clasping her hands in her lap. "Hello, Penny."

"Hi." The word had felt like sandpaper on her throat, but she'd been doing her best.

"So...this is a little unprecedented, but...I know that we haven't spoken about adoption…"

Penny had jerked her head up at that, eyes narrowing. Adoption? "The Andersons…"

"No, um...actually, a man who says he was a family friend of your aunt's got in contact with us."

From then on, life had seemed to move at the speed of light, all a painful, distant blur. One day, she'd been sitting on her bed, the next she'd been asked to pack her things once more, and then she'd been in the back seat of a car and then and then and then...events had happened one after another with no apparent meaning. Her bed in the foster home. The back seat of a car. The Avengers tower where the actual Avengers were now living, apparently unbeknownst to the public. Mr. Stark had introduced her to everyone as his intern and then shown her a room that would apparently belong to her and all she'd been able to think was that she hadn't asked for any of this. Hadn't wanted it. All she wanted was her aunt.

He'd given her the suit back. Encouraged her to go on her patrols in the city after school. And then he'd seemed to retreat again, going off to do whatever work he was always doing and it wasn't like she'd expected him to be her father but it had all been just...incomprehensible.

And then, the day before, he'd knocked on her door, leaning in the doorway and looking out of place even though it was his home. "Hey, kid. Um...I'm off to DC for the weekend. Back to back meetings and all that. So, uh...Pepper's going too, and Rhodey and Steve, but if you need anything, um...well you know where everything is and I've got an extra credit card in the drawer by the fridge if you need money."

She'd barely spoken to him since coming to live at the tower, and Penny knew that the heaviness, the awkwardness...it was partially on her. But it was as if she'd forgotten how to speak. How to communicate. How to do anything but go to school and patrol and cry in her bed at night.

"Okay." He'd clapped his hands together and given a weak smile. "So, I should be home by Sunday night. Maybe we'll have dinner, huh? Just me, you, and Pepper?"

She'd tried to smile. Tried to nod. "Okay."

"Alright, kiddo. See you Sunday. Oh...uh, no patrolling while we're all gone, okay?"

"Okay."

He'd been trying. On and off, he would pop into her life, inviting her down to the lab or trying to talk to her at dinner. Other times he'd seemed to retreat into his busy life, which wasn't unexpected. It didn't bother her. She didn't expect him to be her father.

All day Saturday, she'd stayed in her room. She'd done her homework and texted with Ned and left her room only to get food when the others were nowhere around. Not that she didn't like the other Avengers but she wasn't in the mood to mingle. Hadn't been in the mood to mingle since walking into the kitchen that day and finding her aunt on the floor, a halo of blood around her hair. So she'd stayed in her room. Painted her nails. Watched youtube videos. Read a book. And then...and then she'd stood up from her bed, grabbed her suit, and pulled it on. She'd disabled the tracker the week before while playing around with the coding of the suit, needing something, anything to do after finishing her homework, and so, without worrying about alerting Mr. Stark, she had swung out the window. All she'd wanted to do was get out of that room that had been set up for her without her input. To get out of the tower where she was grateful to live but hadn't wanted to live.

Shivering in the rain, she stared up at the tower, tears running down her face under the mask. There was a heater in her suit, she knew, but she didn't turn it on. Didn't feel like she deserved it. The patrol had been fine. She'd stopped a mugging and intercepted a drug deal and helped an older lady carry her groceries up to her apartment. And then the rain had started, so she'd headed back to the tower.

Back home.

That was the thought that had stopped her short. Home. The tower wasn't her home. May was her home, and her home was gone. Forever.

Footsteps startled her a little, and she jerked her head to the side only to find Thor approaching...holding an umbrella. Penny blinked at the sight, brain struggling to make it all compute. Yes, she'd known that Thor was back. She'd met him, briefly, when she'd met all of the Avengers. But...what was he doing?

When he finally reached her, he held out the umbrella, shielding her from the rain, and leaned in. "Are you alright?"

Did they know she was Spider-Girl? Had Mr. Stark told them? Had he mentioned that to her at some point? She nodded, and then the man wrapped an arm around her.

"Come. Let's get you inside."

"I…" She swallowed hard, blinking behind the tears unsuccessfully. "I wasn't supposed to go out. Mr. Stark...he told me not to. But...but I did it anyway and now…"

Now what? Would he send her back when he found out? Would he yell at her? Like with the ferry? Would he take the suit again?

"Stark isn't home yet. Come on." Thor urged again, leading her over to the back entrance. Penny followed dumbly, stepping with him into the building, then onto the elevator, and then, finally, onto a floor she didn't think she'd ever been on. A floor with a living room and a kitchen and a hallway decorated differently than Mr. Stark's, but still...almost the same layout. Not asking where they were or what was going on, Penny let him lead her down the hallway to the bathroom, urging her inside as he stayed in the doorway. "Take a shower and get cleaned up. I'll find you some clothes."

Glad to know exactly what she was supposed to do, she followed orders, pressing against the spider on her chest as soon as the door was shut and letting the suit fall to the ground with a wet flop. Stripping off the underclothes, she let them fall as well, then turned the shower on hot and stepped inside, letting the warm replace the chill that had seeped into her skin. For a long time, she stood under the spray. At one point, there was a knock on the door, although she had no idea how long she'd been standing under the spray.

"Yeah?" she called over the water, surprised to find her voice almost hoarse. She was crying, she realized then, reaching up and pressing a hand to her face which had been under the spray. Still crying.

The door opened a little, and through the curtain, she saw the shadow of a figure place something on the sink. "I brought you some clothes."

And then the door was closed and she was alone again, face turned up toward the hot water pouring from the showerhead.

When the water finally went from hot to tepid, she turned it off, stepping onto the bath mat and wrapping herself in a thick towel. Once she was dry, she held up the pajama shirt, surprised to find that it was hers. Well...one that had been in her room when she'd first arrived at the tower. She hadn't even taken the tags off yet. So, ripping the little white tags off and dropping them into the garbage, she pulled the clean, dry clothes on, dried her hair as best she could, then stared down at the wet clothes on the floor.

Another tap on the door brought her out of her trance, and she opened it to find Thor standing on the other side, his one good eye looking her over critically, new short hair mussed and standing on end. "Here. For the suit." He held out a bag that looked like something she would find at a convenience store and she took it, gathering the clothes and dropping them into the bag. "Come with me," he urged, reaching out and putting a hand on her shoulder.

She did, following dumbly once more, and found herself in the living room, the bag gently taken from her hands, shoulder pressed until she was sitting on the sofa. Then something new was pressed into her hands. Staring down at them, she found a mug with a cartoonish rendition of Thor himself, lightning bolts filling all the empty space. Inside, she could smell the chocolate, and she brought it up to her lips, closing her eyes when the hot liquid warmed her from the inside.

After a moment, Thor sat on the sofa beside her, not close enough that their legs were touching, but almost. "Were you hurt?" he asked, leaning in. She shook her head. When she was silent, he turned a little toward her. "You know, I used to do this for Loki when he would sneak out...back when we were boys." He glanced around as if looking for Loki, and she tried to remember if he was there...if he was staying at the tower. Had she met him? Had he been in the group of Avengers she'd been introduced to that day? "When he would fight with our parents...or just when he got bored. He'd come home, upset and afraid of being caught, and I would sneak him inside. Make sure he was alright."

Penny took another drink of her hot chocolate.

"Stark mentioned that he was adopting you. You know, Loki was adopted as well. As a baby. My father returned home with him when I was very young, and we grew up together." He clasped his hands in his lap. "Stark didn't tell us about the circumstances that led to your adoption. He only said that you no longer had a family.

"I don't," she whispered.

"I am very sorry to hear that. I know it must be difficult, coming to live with strangers. But I want you to know that we are all happy to have you. That we can be your family, if you wish."

That was all it took. Those two sentences. Nearly dropping the mug, Penny brought a hand up to her face and let out the sob that refused to stay inside of her, and a hand gently removed the mug, placing it on the table. Then, to her surprise, Thor wrapped an arm around her, and she turned, gripping his shirt and hiding her face in his chest as though he were someone that she loved. As though he was May or Ben, who had held her so many times just like this. Who were both gone.

"I want her back," Penny sobbed as he wrapped both arms around her, holding her close. He was so warm, his arms so big, that she felt engulfed. Enveloped. "She was all I had and I want her back!"

"I'm so sorry, Penny," he murmured, rubbing a hand up and down her back.

"I didn't...I didn't know he was bringing me here and...and I can't talk to him...I can't! I can't talk to anyone!"

"Why don't you tell me?" Thor suggested gently, still holding her close.

And she did, words spilling out of her at an alarming rate. But once she'd started, there was no stopping. She told him about May. And Ben. She told him about how she'd met Mr. Stark and about the fight in Germany...about the calls that had gone unanswered and the voice mails and the river Mr. Stark had pulled her out of. She told him about the ferry, and how Mr. Stark had taken her suit. She told him about finding May, and feeling like the world had turned to black and white, and how she couldn't talk and she couldn't laugh and she could't find happy anymore, how all she could do was go to school and do her homework and patrol. How everything was autopilot and how she wanted to go home but home was gone.

Thor didn't say anything for a long time. He just held her. Just rubbed her back and wrapped her in a blanket and sat, still and warm and comfortable, until she felt like she was drifting off. She was so tired...hadn't slept without nightmares in so long.

"What do I do?" she finally asked, desperate to know. Desperate to have some direction.

"For now, I think you should sleep," he murmured as the lights started to go down. "And then, maybe you should try telling some of this to Tony."

"I can't." Penny shook her head despite the exhaustion that had settled over her like a blanket. "I don't even know why he brought me here! I screwed up and...and he wanted Spider-Girl to help but he didn't want…" She didn't finish that statement. Couldn't. Instead, she let him ease her head down until it was resting on a pillow on his leg.

"I think that Tony regrets the way things happened, and that he is having a difficult time talking to you about it. But if there's one thing I know about Tony, it's that he cares deeply for his family. And I believe he sees you as his family."

"I just want to sleep," she whispered in the dark, unable to process that...unable to even think about being Mr. Stark's family.

"Alright. Get some sleep."

And she did. Maybe, she thought, hoping against hope, all of this would be easier in the morning.

It wasn't. Not really. But for the first night in so long, she slept without nightmares, thanks to Thor standing guard.

**Thank you for reading!**


End file.
